With no RS model on table, it’s up to the stylish, warm-ish new Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo to keep the Czech brand’s left-field faithful happy. Given the previous-gen Monte Carlo filled 40 percent of Fabia orders, that shouldn’t be difficult to match with this much more sophisticated offering.
In line with a range re-shuffle for the 2017 model year, the Monte Carlo slots in where last year’s 81TSI with Sports Pack left off, only this black-wheeled baby scores kit you simply couldn’t option previously.
Top of the list is Monte Carlo-specific seating, with exposed stitching, striped centre trim and striking rear seatbacks and rear headrests, giving the funky Fabia some real visual flair inside its neatly drawn cabin.
This time, however, you can get the Monte Carlo in a wagon bodystyle as well as a hatchback, giving the Fabia a genuine USP over every competitor in Australia’s ‘light’ car class. Indeed, one third of local Fabia sales go to the wagon, far outstripping Skoda’s predictions.
As well as the rear-view camera now fitted to every MY17 Fabia (in conjunction with standard collision assist, autonomous emergency braking, and multi-collision brake), for its $23,490 sticker ($24,640 as a wagon), the Monte Carlo boasts a host of visual dress-up gear, including the aforementioned sports seats and black 17-inch alloys.
A black grille, front spoiler, side skirts, door mirrors, rear diffuser, a darkened panoramic glass roof and rear privacy glass visually toughen the Monte Carlo, backed up by sparkly projector headlamps with LED daytime running lights and front fogs. It also rides on sports suspension 15mm lower than stock, which strikes a pleasant compromise between enhanced agility and decent ride comfort, and can be painted in the almost-matte Steel Grey hue from the Skoda Octavia RS.
Inside, unique instrument graphics, a perforated-leather flat-bottomed wheel with red stitching, silver Monte Carlo sill strips, stainless-steel pedal covers and a front-centre armrest complete the look.
Available solely with an 81kW/175Nm 1.2-litre turbo-petrol four and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, the Monte Carlo can be further enhanced via two comprehensive options packs.
The ‘Tech Pack’ ($1800) adds keyless entry/start with alarm, adaptive (instead of regular) cruise control, rear parking sensors, digital climate control, auto headlights/wipers, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, digital radio and fatigue detection.
Amundsen sat-nav ($950) and metallic paint ($500) are also extra, while a Skoda 5-year care Pack ($2899) bundles together two years additional warranty coverage with five years/75,000km worth of servicing.
The rest of the MY17 Fabia range gets a slight pricing reshuffle. The 66TSI five-speed manual base model kicks off at $16,490 driveaway, while its 81TSI seven-speed dual-clutch sister is now $19,490 driveaway.
The 81TSI has been slightly de-specced to match the 66TSI for equipment (cue 15-inch steel wheels with wheelcovers instead of 16-inch alloys), but both can be significantly enhanced via optional Sports Pack ($1800) and Premium Sports Pack ($3600) equipment bundles with more gear than a princess on holiday.
INDYCAR podium finisher Simona De Silvestro has signed on the dotted line to race in Supercars for three years, starting in 2017.
There has been no confirmation on what team the 2010 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year will drive for, with De Silvestro making the unprecedented move of signing with Supercars itself.
However, Nissan has agreed to field an Altima for De Silvestro and her co-driver Renne Gracie as they enter this year’s Bathurst 1000 as Wildcards.
The pair also contested last year’s Great Race as a Wildcard, however were hampered when Gracie damaged their Ford FG X Falcon early in the race after sliding on oil.
De Silvestro made her Touring Car and Supercars debut at the event, and impressed many in pitlane with her ability to adapt quickly to the unique challenges of V8 Supercars and Mount Panorama.
The 28-year-old Swiss international star has spent the last year competing in the all-electric Formula E series with Andretti Autosport, but will switch to Supercars full-time from 2017.
“That this goal became reality so quickly is fantastic and I have to thank [Supercars CEO] James Warburton for believing in me and wanting me in Supercars.
“This is going to be my first full-time year with a closed top car and there a lot of new things for me to learn and adapt to.
“I am very respectful towards this new challenge but at the same time I am very excited about driving in such a competitive championship. I can’t wait to jump in the car to work towards getting the most out of these cars.”
De Silvestro and Gracie’s Wildcard Bathurst entry was sponsored by Harvey Norman, and the electronics retailer has returned to fund the Swiss racer’s full-time tilt.
“I also have to thank Harvey Norman for their support as without them this incredible opportunity would not have been possible,” De Silvestro added.
“To have the trust from somebody like [Harvey Norman CEO] Katie Page is giving me a lot of confidence and I look forward to my new adventure in Australia.”
Wheels understands the initial plan was for De Silvestro to join a team with serious race-winning potential.
Supercars CEO James Warburton was pleased to finally confirm De Silvestro would be racing in the category full-time.
“This is an exciting announcement for the sport and a major coup for Supercars,” he said.
“We said we wanted to have a full-time female driver in our championship and in Simona we have secured a world class driver.
“Along with Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher she is one of only three female drivers to have stood on the podium in IndyCar and she will be a brilliant addition to Supercars.
“There will be great anticipation when Simona lines up on the grid at Clipsal 500 Adelaide next March. What is really exciting is that she has committed to three years which gives her a great opportunity to make her mark in the sport.”
The South Australian Government has also chipped in money for De Silvestro to race full-time.
Large SUV crucial to Skoda’s global ambitions.
Refined spaciousness has become the new quirky for Skoda as it unveils its crucial new Skoda Kodiaq large SUV, underpinned by a worldwide rebranding intended to expand the Czech marque’s global presence.
At a media breakfast in Sydney yesterday, Skoda Australia’s Managing Director, Michael Irmer, confirmed the brand’s SUV focus in the coming years, beginning with the Kodiaq’s Aussie launch in July 2017, followed by an all-new, much-larger Skoda Yeti SUV scheduled for a 2018 arrival locally.
Irmer also confirmed that the completion date for “rebuilding our network in its entirety” would be the end of 2017 for all of its 34 Australian outlets, though the six-strong Sydney dealer network would be revamped in time for the Kodiaq’s mid-2017 debut.
“It’s very likely that we’ll only bring seven seats [a five-seat version will be available in Europe], and only the top engines”. For Kodiaq, that means a new, high-torque 132kW/320Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four (2.0TSI) from the get-go, and later, once production is in full swing, the same 140kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four (2.0TDI) also seen in Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Tiguan and Volkswagen Passat. Both Kodiaq TSI and TDI variants will exclusively feature seven-speed dual-clutch gearboxes and all-wheel drive.
The manual ’boxes, front-wheel drive, and less-powerful 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engines available in Europe won’t be coming here.
Measuring 4697mm in length, 1882mm wide, and riding on a leggy 2791mm wheelbase (over 100mm longer than the new Tiguan’s), the Kodiaq sits firmly in the large SUV category, competing head-on, in terms of size, with the seven-seat Kia Sorento.
But thanks to a middle-row seat that adjusts fore-aft, the Kodiaq offers between 560 and 765 litres of boot space (with the rear row folded flat), and a sizeable 2005 litres with both rows dropped. In comparison, the Sorento manages 605 litres and 1662 litres.
As a result, the Kodiaq is both quick and efficient for its type. Skoda claims 0-100km/h in 8.0sec and a combined fuel number of 7.3L/100km for the seven-seat 2.0TSI petrol, or 8.8sec and 5.7L/100km for the equivalent diesel. Both have braked towing capacities of 2000kg and standard ground clearance of 188mm.
An off-road mode is optional on 4×4 variants in Europe, as well as Dynamic Chassis Control (adaptive dampers), while Kodiaq also offers a class-leading level of available connectivity, driver-assist and infotainment technology.
You can expect most, if not all, of that kit to make its way here either as standard equipment, or optionally available in multiple equipment packs.
As is the trend with launch editions, if a Kodiaq example happens, expect it to feature an ample level of equipment and the largest alloy-wheel size in the catalogue.
Further down the track, there’s a strong chance that Kodiaq will score the flagship Tiguan’s 162kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four (as per Golf GTI).
There are also rumours Skoda is developing a Kodiaq Coupe, with the bittersweet news that it could be a China-only model.
After months of unofficial spy images, Land Rover has released the first official images previewing its next-generation Discovery set to make its world premiere on the eve of the Paris Motor Show on 28 September.
The new Discovery 5 will be the fifth generation of the full-sized seven seater SUV. Debuting in 1989 as a means to bridge the gap between the firm’s go-anywhere Defender and the upmarket luxury Range Rover, the Discovery quickly developed a cult-like status and has since sold more than 1.2 million units worldwide.
Looking very much like the then-futuristic Discovery Vision concept unveiled at the 2014 New York Motor Show, the next-gen Discovery boasts a lower, sleeker design than the current model. It’s likely to come fitted with the latest technology, too. To use Land Rover’s own words, the “design and engineering teams have revolutionised the Discovery DNA to create a highly desirable, extremely versatile and hugely capable premium SUV.”
From that we can assume the Discovery will still possess the excellent and often class-leading off-road ability it has become known for in recent time, but with more emphasis on a sportier on-road performance. Among other things, this will be achieved through replacing the current chassis with the much lighter aluminium unit used in the Range Rover line-up. The weight reduction should also result in better fuel economy and help the large SUV shed some of its current criticism gained for its relatively small 82L tank.
The Discovery 5 looks set to retain its unique and highly-regarded full-sized seven seater roominess, too, which is good news for the car’s wide ranging fan base.
Currently, the Australian-spec Discovery is powered by a turbo diesel V6 engine offered in two different states of tune, but we’ll have to wait until closer to the car’s Aussie launch next year when Land Rover Australia will confirm the specifications slated for the Aussie market.
Volkswagen Australia boss Michael Bartsch insists the company has not breached Australian emission standards.
Volkswagen Australia is standing firm in the face of Federal Court proceedings against it that could cost it millions of dollars, insisting it remains unaware of having broken any Australian laws or emissions standards.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week instituted the proceedings against Volkswagen Australia and parent company Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft for “alleged serious and deliberate breaches of the Australian Consumer Law”. These include “making false or misleading representations and engaging in conduct liable to mislead the public in relation to diesel vehicle emissions”.
The ACCC action comes almost a year since the “Dieselgate” scandal erupted in the US, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to Volkswagen after it was found it had intentionally programmed turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines to activate certain emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing.
Volkswagen will contest the Australian Federal Court action, which it described as unnecessary.
In a statement, the VW said the best outcome for customers whose vehicles are affected is to have the voluntary recall for emissions control software updates installed.
Speaking at a company luncheon with motoring journalists and representatives in Melbourne last month, Bartsch stressed that US and Australian emissions testing regimes were very different and blamed the ACCC and the Department of Development & Research (DIDR) for the delay in the recall of 100,000 affected vehicles to “fix” the software.
“We have had the fixes endorsed by the KBA (Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority) for 70 percent of our vehicles with the DIDR since June 2nd,” Bartsch said.
“There are some 77 primary markets in the world that homologate under the EU standard. Seventy six of those countries have accepted the KBA endorsed fixes that have been rolled out … there’s only one country that hasn’t, that’s Australia.”
“We’re expecting and we’re hoping to get the release on those fixes in the next week but it now lies in the court of the DIDR and the ACCC.”
Bartsch appeared hopeful of a resolution, saying he thought the basic philosophy of the ACCC and Volkswagen were the same.
“We both agree that the best interests of the consumers is served by getting the vehicles fixed and getting them fixed as soon as possible,” he added.
“I guess the Volkswagen chief executive has been quoted as saying they don’t believe they have breached Australian law, so that has been the starting point,” Sims told Fairfax Media.
“It has not been easy, it’s been difficult to get information and the cooperation we would have hoped for.”
Different standards
The ACCC says the Australian Design Rules implement international standards that regulate the emission of NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) from motor vehicles, but Bartsch said cars sold in Australia are tested to European Union standards which measure Carbon Dioxide (C02) emissions and fuel economy.
“The legislation that drives emission standards in the United States driven by CARB (California Air Resources Board) and managed by the US EPA focuses on NOx as the primary consideration. The EU model focuses on CO2 and fuel economy – different priorities,” he said.
Bartsch, who took the reins at Volkswagen Australia just as the Dieselgate scandal erupted in the US last year, insisted that all the vehicles named in the ACCC proceedings had exceeded the standard for vehicles sold in Australia, using the Amarok ute as an example of why the US Dieselgate situation isn’t directly relatable with Australia.
“So the car was homologated substantially below the legislative requirements of Australia.”
He added when the Amarok had the emissions software fixed according to the rectification protocols approved by the KBA it still came still came out at 220 to 230 grams of nitrogen oxide per kilometre driven.
“To put that into context with the US, that two-litre motor in the US under the CARB legislation – the maximum nitrogen oxide output allowed is 30grams. So you can see that as a consequence of the homologation protocols it’s two very, very different legislative environments.”
The ACCC declined to respond to Bartsch’s explanation “as the matter is now before the court”, but on announcing the action Sims said consumers rightly expect that their vehicle’s emissions would operate as advertised.
“We allege that this was not the case with more than 57,000 vehicles sold in Australia by Volkswagen over a five-year period.
“We expect higher standards of behaviour from all companies that supply to Australian consumers,” Sims said.
Diesel-powered VW vehicles covered by the ACCC proceedings:
- Amarok 2.0 litre – 2011 to 2012
- Caddy 1.6 and 2.0 litre – 2010 to 2015
- Eos 2.0 litre – 2009 to 2014
- Golf 1.6 and 2.0 litre – 2009 to 2013
- Jetta 1.6 and 2.0 litre – 2009 to 2015
- Passat 2.0 litre – 2008 to 2015
- Passat CC 2.0 litre – 2008 to 2012
- Polo 1.6 litre – 2009 to 2014
- Tiguan 2.0 litre – 2008 to 2015
- CC 2.0 litre – 2011 to 2015
The Porsche 911 GT3 RS is primarily aimed at tearing up track days, but with a 368kW/460Nm 4.0-litre flat-six, it’s no slouch in a straight line, either.
Its 0-100km/h claim is a blistering 3.3sec, and Porsche is notoriously conservative with its acceleration times.
Unfortunately, tyres that had recently completed a weekend’s worth of hot laps at the Rennsport festival meant we couldn’t quite match that, but this circuit star still managed to establish itself as one of the fastest cars we’ve ever tested.
To read our full review check out the latest issue of MOTOR.
Ford Australia is proving the end of local manufacturing doesn’t mean the end of local jobs – announcing it will further bolster its workforce for its first year as an import-only business.
The company will hire 23 graduates in 2017 to fill various positions across its Victorian operations, including product development, marketing, sales and finance.
Ford will also recruit designers for the first time since it restarted its Graduate Program in 2015.
The move is part of Ford’s plan to be Australia’s biggest automotive employee from 2018, following the cessation of vehicle production in October.
It aims to eventually employ about 1500 staff across its Research and Development Centre in Geelong, Proving Ground in Lara, and its Design Centre and Asia Pacific Product Development Centre, both in Broadmeadows.
Ford Australia’s director of vehicle programs at its Product Development Centre, Dave French, says the recruits are vital to the company’s revised status as a development hub for the One Ford empire.
“Ford graduates in Australia will play a significant role in shaping the future of the automotive industry globally, working right here in Australia,” said French.
“Because we are part of Ford’s global team, we work locally to create great vehicles for markets all over the world.
“We believe we have a real advantage investing this heavily in Australia because the country has rich talent and one of the leading educational systems in the world.”
The Ranger ute and Ford Everest SUV are Ford Australia’s most prominent examples of locally developed vehicles for global markets, though it continues to work on multiple projects that are less public.
The 23 new hires will take Ford Australia’s graduate recruitment total to 59 since it re-introduced its Graduate Program.
The company plans to launch 20 new or facelifted models by 2020.
First published in the June 1985 issue of Wheels magazine, Australia’s best car mag since 1953.
In 1985, Wheels stunned Australian readers – and the world – with in-depth scoop on the EA Falcon three years before its launch.
Forget the X cars; this new generation of slippery, modern Falcons is built to take on the world
THIS IS Ford’s 1988 Falcon, the all-new, uniquely Australian design that will carry the fortunes of FoMoCo well into the next decade.
Ford Australia, flushed with the success of its big cars that helped push it to a record profit of $97 million in 1984, has been allowed to develop a complete range of locally conceived cars, destined not just for the Australian market, but for export to both the USA and Europe.
These photographs of EA 26, the code name for the new Falcon, come from inside Ford’s design centre in Detroit and were first published in the news pages of the American magazine Car and Driver. Their significance for Australia is immeasurable because they are official Ford styling photographs of the car sent by Ford Australia, to the USA, for product clinics to establish how the Falcon will rate on the American scene.
The photographs prove conclusively that the next Falcon owes very little, even in its general styling theme, to the recently released European Ford Scorpio and the American Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable twins, which are cars of essentially the same size. It was these two models, from Ford’s international line-up, which were finally rejected for Australia as being too advanced for our conservative buyers.
Hence the straight forward, three-box design for both the Falcon and the long wheelbase Fairlane/LTD/wagon variants. Not for Ford Australia the bolder fastback look but a smooth flanked wedge, that has a high, flat tail, aimed at correcting the appallingly bad drag co-efficient of the present Ford Falcon. With virtually flush side windows, very few exposed body joins and carefully integrated roofline and rear window (critical to a slippery shape) we understand the aim is to reach 0.30 cd.
EA 26 is shorter than the existing Falcon and very slightly narrower but it is still a big car by any standards. Our sources suggest that the basic floor pan, which has served the Falcon since the 1966 Ford Falcon XR, will be retained. They go further to say that there will be no shortening of the 2829 mm wheelbase, as was strongly rumoured last year, and claim that the Fairlane/L TD/wagon wheelbase of 2959 mm – one of the longest for any current production car in the world – will also continue.
From the photographs it appears as if the leading edge of the front doors has been moved closer to the rear of the front wheel arch, compared to the XF, which would seem to indicate that the wheelbase has been shortened. However, our insider remains adamant that the wheelbase is unchanged and that interior room is very impressive.
Ford Australia’s growing strength as a design source, within Ford internationally, is confirmed by the knowledge that it has almost certainly decided to continue the panel van and utility models, which were going to be dropped, by grafting the new nose and cabin onto the existing XF commercial bodies. Holden’s decision to drop the WB ute and van, and Mazda’s relatively poor showing in the commercial market, seems to have given the local models a reprieve.
Under that chic exterior the engineers have been hard at working to improve the new car’s refinement, especially since it seems it will have to compete with European and American models. We understand the EA 26 has been designed to be built in both left and right hand drive forms and very few new cars can claim that distinction, at least outside the Japanese.
What of the engines? Will they, too, be new and perhaps of V6 configuration? Once we believed so but our item last year about a single ohc conversion on the existing 3.3 and 4.1 litre straight sixes seems firm, although they will be touted as being all new. And a turbo option will surely have appeared by then to satisfy the demands for extra power that continue to come from dealers, more for the LTD buyer than the bloke who wants a so-called sporty Falcon.
This all-Australia new car (and its wasn’t so long ago that virtually all Australian motoring writers and industry observers believed the XD Falcon would be the last truly Australian new car) invokes scepticism – maybe tinged with jealousy – among the executives of the four other local car makers who would love to be able to do their own thing. Fearful of another energy crisis and petrol rocketing to 75 cents a litre, they wonder if such a massive investment can be justified. Ford, of course, believes it would be stupid to turn its back on such a successful formula and when one considers the huge profits it has made out of the Fairlane/L TD (which are essentially longer Falcons selling for twice the price) who can argue with that?
Ultimately, however, it may be that exports are the key to the huge gamble Ford has undertaken.
Now that Ford has gone public and admitted the next all-new Falcon will be a uniquely Australian design, something WHEELS readers have known for almost a year, of course, the countdown has begun. Bill Dix managing director of Ford Australia, has told us the project is going to cost $330 million and will produce “a car that will be Australian in design, concept and manufacture. This new vehicle, ” he says, “and its derivatives will be designed to provide Australian motorists with the quality, durability, performance and interior package size they have come to expect from Falcon.”
Then he goes on, and this is perhaps the most interesting bit, to say: “We will be actively seeking export markets with this vehicle and we believe we will have a world class product with which to achieve that goal.” Yet the Falcon – note that the X code names have been dropped – which has already been the subject of research clinics both in America and Europe, will be very little bigger than either the Scorpio, which is rear drive, or the Taurus, which has front drive.
It wasn’t so long ago that virtually all Australian motoring writers and Industry observers believed the XD Falcon would be the last truly Australian new car invokes scepticism – maybe tinged with jealousy – among the executives of the four other local car makers who would love to be able to do their own thing. Fearful of another energy crisis and petrol rocketing to 75 cents a litre, they wonder if such a massive investment can be justified. Ford, of course, believes it would be stupid to turn its back on such a successful formula and when one considers the huge profits it has made out of the Fairlane/L TD (which are essentially longer Falcons selling for twice the price) who can argue with that?
Why, the bosses in Detroit must have asked, do we need to develop three totally different cars of such a similar size for the world markets, especially when demand for truly big cars is slowly but surely in decline?
Clearly, Ford Australia has been able to convince the bean-counters that there is money to be made with a big car in Australia and on the export markets, where they see the Falcon coming in above the Sable and Scorpio, and the LTD as a truly big car for the USA where it is expected to be a big volume seller by local standards.
Finally, the EA 26 Falcon won’t appear in 1987, as forecast for so long, but in early 1988 probably at the Melbourne motor show. Can we expect to see a facelifted version of the XF?
So, bold, aggressive, arrogant Ford Australia has bitten the bullet. Good luck chaps.
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There’s one in every crowd, that just have to spoil it for everyone.
Drift Mode in the new Ford Focus RS has garnered plenty of negative publicity in Australia and with idiots like this around, maybe the naysayers have a point.
During a cruise held by the New York ST club, one participant decided to prove he is a driving god by drifting a hairpin. Unfortunately, with too much speed and not enough skill, the end result was one very bent Focus RS, all captured on camera. Skip to 0:35 for the incident.
Drift Mode is intended for use at the track and with a bit of space to play with, it’s a bit of fun, though largely a gimmick. More importantly, if you want to drive like this, go and visit a skidpan.
One man has flown further than anyone else in a truck, launching 116m to snare the Guinness world record.
Bryce Menzies, a former Frozen Rush and Baja 500 champ, has earned himself a Guinness World Record after jumping a Red Bull/Pennzoil Pro 2 off-road truck over a ‘Ghost Town’ in New Mexico, USA.
Helping him conquer the previous official 91m truck distance record, and Tanner Foust’s unofficial 101m jump, Menzies used a specially designed 671kW truck with modified weight balance, higher-pressure tyres, and injectors.
The record was achieved on a test jump before a succeeding one ended in a crash – and luckily only a broken shoulder for Menzies – cancelling an attempt for live TV.
And if you need any reminder what’s at stake here, check out Guerlain Chicherit’s botched attempt for GoPro in 2014.
