The Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class previews the technology that will underpin its first complete family of electric cars to be created from scratch.

An 800-volt architecture brings 250kW rapid charging, there’s a new MB.OS operating system combined with Superscreen, and the most efficient model promises impressive efficiency for up to 750km of driving range.

The CLA Class concept shown at this week’s Munich motor show directly previews the next-generation CLA four-door ‘coupe’ that will take on Tesla’s hugely popular Model 3.

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There will also be another CLA Shooting Brake using the new Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA) and the new, inhouse-developed electric drive system. Two further body styles confirmed are SUVs, expected to be the EQA and EQB successors.

Entry models will feature a 175kW rear-mounted synchronous motor with two-speed transmission, with all-wheel-drive variants to be offered in addition to the rear-drive cars.

The internally developed electric drive system was showcased in the 2022 Vision EQXX and brings “extremely high energy efficiency of up to 93%”. Mercedes says the most efficient MMA models will bring energy consumption of just 12kWh/100km to deliver 750km-plus range.

This compares with an estimated 14.2kWh/100km for the base Tesla Model 3, the most obvious target for the CLA sedan.

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The electric drivetrain is scalable for other vehicle segments

Mercedes, as with the Model 3, will split chemistry options. Entry models gain a lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery, which glues rather than screws together its cell modules to help make the structure lighter, stiffer and smaller.

The ‘top level’ battery increases energy density through an anode design with silicon-oxide.

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MMA’s 800-volt architecture allows for 250kW DC rapid charging, which Mercedes says can add 400km of range in just 15 minutes.

Bi-directional charging equips the family of compact electric Benzes with vehicle to home (V2H) and vehicle to grip (V2G) capabilities.

The Mercedes Concept CLA Class was unveiled a day or so after BMW revealed its Neue Klasse in Munich – another concept with retro cues that previews a future family of advanced EVs.

Mercedes’ future CLA sedan doesn’t move away from the swoopy, coupe style of the previous CLAs but the details are truly futuristic.

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These details include ever-intricate LED design work, with a particularly stunning application of the famous three-pointed star logo for the headlights and tail-lights.

There are three-pointed stars galore elsewhere, including star-studded ‘grille’ and wheel discs, plus an animated star pattern for the full-length glass roof.

A neon-heavy interior seemingly inspired by Blade Runner looks less production-ready than the exterior, with its heavily sculpted front and rear seats, and transparent elements such as the smartphone charging tray or the MB.OS cube that hints at the new operating system’s status as the ‘brains’ of the car.

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The full-cabin-width MBUX Superscreen is certainly realistic, having debuted in the 2024 E-Class, albeit in differently designed form.

In the CLA concept, the digital Superscreen houses everything from instrument cluster to smartphone-shaped infotainment tiles (on the passenger side) to the intriguing “virtual air vents”.

Mercedes describes them as “hyper-analogue” – combining a digital display with a physical controller ring that emerges from the Superscreen to allow for temperature adjustment.

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The Volkswagen GTI nameplate has finally been applied to an electric car.

The new VW ID. GTI concept has made its debut in Munich at the IAA Mobility 2023 motor show, in a move the German brand describes as “marking the next chapter in the iconic GTI legacy”.

The five-door VW ID. 2ALL-based GTI hot-hatch model is seemingly the next step in the future rollout of Volkswagen’s compact electric hatchback range, and one that has a similar target to GTI models in the past – to be affordable.

Being only a concept, there are no specifics around production powertrains, but it is based on the MEB Small front-wheel drive platform, and the VW Group has previously showcased the Cupra UrbanRebel prototype on those underpinnings.

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In that interpretation, there’s a front-mounted electric motor with up to 320kW of peak power, and a 0-100km/h claim of just 3.2 seconds.

Whether that would be transferable to an affordable production GTI take on the brand’s new-gen EV small car is questionable, but Andreas Mindt, chief designer at Volkswagen Passenger Cars, told Australian media the concept car is “90 percent” indicative of what a production version would look like.

“I would say 90 percent. Maybe 93! No, but it’s very close to what we want to show,” he said, before noting some of the exaggerations that may not carry over to the production model: the 20-inch wheels in particular (expect 19s as the largest option, albeit with a similar design that harks back to the original steel wheels of the first GTI), while the track width and front bumper are expected to be less dramatic.

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“You see some cars, they’re super aggressive, [they look as though they are] eating people on the street or whatever… I really believe it’s somehow wrong.”

However, you can expect the thick “solid rock” C-pillar design, hidden rear door handles and single-piece rear door glass to carry over to production. In fact, Mr Mindt revealed that the back door shut line and rear arches were a big focus for the brief.

“We pushed into it to make way for the beefy wheel-arch,” he said. “That will be exactly like you see it.”

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“The door handle makes the car cheaper because we save this pillar,” he said, pointing to the section of the rear window that would typically have an extender pillar in place with a smaller glass piece behind.

He said that smaller pillar is usually there because the back window won’t go down into the door if it’s so wide, but with this car, the line of the door and shape of the glass allows it to be a single piece.

Mr Mindt said that cars can’t merely be aggressive, which he indicated he felt was an all-too common theme with sportier vehicles. “You see some cars, they’re super aggressive, [they look as though they are] eating people on the street or whatever… I really believe it’s somehow wrong.”

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“When you are in this segment, when you design a car like that it becomes a ‘boy racer’, and that’s a little bit tasteless, a little bit cheesy.”

“And what we want to achieve is a tasteful car in the segment – it can be tasteful, yes, or sporty and tasteful at the same time. For everybody.”

“This friendliness, it really works with sportiness, together, I’m really convinced. You know, it makes you smile. It makes you happy. It’s just like the Beetle, the Beetle was always a happy thing,” he said.

Further, the two concept models shown are finished in a couple of iconic GTI colours – Diamond Silver, the same that the first 1976 Golf GTI wore, and Mars Red, which has become a staple of the range.

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The expected red linear exterior flashes are evident: there are golf-ball motifs on the wheel centre caps, and while the actual interior of the car has not been properly revealed, illustrations suggest it will have a number of trademark GTI elements, including red highlights and – you’d think – tartan trim.

The sporty looking new model comes as the Volkswagen Group works to more greatly differentiate each of the brands under the umbrella, with Group CEO Oliver Blume (pictured alongside silver concept at top of story) saying design is critical to the implementation of that strategy.

“The design of our models is one of the most crucial factors that decides the success of our brands,” Blume says.

“Each brand needs its own strong personality. Our refined design principles aim for higher design quality and stronger differentiation of the brands, with our design strategy relying on the further development of established model series, technological lighthouse projects for electric vehicles, and iconic products of the Volkswagen Group.”

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Australia has seen a significant rise in the number of cyclists on the road.

Whether Aussies are jumping on a bike for recreation or as a mode of transport, government authorities continue to invest in infrastructure to keep cyclists safe.

As a result, understanding the rules surrounding bicycle lanes is crucial for both drivers and cyclists to ensure safety and harmony on the roads.

We’ve popped together a guide for the key road rules for drivers in Australia when it comes to bicycle lanes.

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What is a bicycle lane?

A bicycle lane is a marked lane with either a bicycle lane sign or road marking of a bicycle symbol and the word ‘lane’ painted in white.

These lanes are specifically designed for the exclusive use of bicycles (and other predominantly pedal-operated two-wheeled vehicles).

A bike path, on the other hand, is a separate trail or pathway only for cyclists and sometimes pedestrians, away from regular traffic.

Think of a bike lane as a special part of the road, while a bike path is its own separate track.

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How far can you drive in a bicycle lane?

The law states that motorists are not allowed to drive in a bicycle lane, but there can be exceptions to this, such as the need to turn or overtake.

In most states in Australia you’re allowed to drive up to 50 metres in a bike lane for a limited amount of reasons:

1. Entering or Leaving the Road: A driver is allowed to drive for up to 50 metres in a bicycle lane to enter or leave the road. This includes situations like entering a driveway, a side street, or a parking spot adjacent to the bicycle lane.

2. Avoiding an Obstacle: If there’s an obstacle on the road, drivers can use the bicycle lane to avoid it, but only for up to 50 metres.

3. Setting down or picking up passengers: Drivers can use the bicycle lane for up to 50 metres to pick up or set down passengers if they are in a ride-share vehicle (select states), taxi or bus.

Emergency vehicles are exempt from the above limitations and may use the lanes when necessary.

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How much distance do I need to give cyclists?

Across Australia, when overtaking or passing a cyclist you must keep a one-metre distance on roads with speed limits up to 60km/h and at least 1.5m when travelling on a road over 60km/h.

This rule ensures that cyclists have enough space to manoeuvre if they encounter an obstacle or need to avoid a hazard.

Stopping in a Bicycle Lane

You may stop or park in a designated bike lane if driving in it is permitted and there are no signs or road markings indicating otherwise.

If you park in a bicycle lane without signage stating you can, you risk receiving a fine which can range between $155-$352 depending on state.

Ultimately, by being aware of these above rules, drivers can contribute to a safer and more harmonious road environment for all users.

In a trial that lasted several weeks, but drawn out over a year since the model was introduced locally, Australia’s Federal Court heard the key arguments put forward by each side – from the dealers making their case for compensation, and from Mercedes-Benz Australia defending how the rollout was managed.

As a quick recap, agency models, while varying between brands and markets, typically include the carmaker owning the vehicle stock instead of selling to a dealership – which then of course on-sells to the consumer.

The second major component is a standardised national price on each and every model in a company’s line-up, bringing an end to ‘haggling’ and negotiation on how much someone wants to pay.

Mercedes began using the agency model locally in January 2022, but its origins go much further back than that – with the court hearing how the idea had been discussed (and presented to dealers) since 2017.

According to the dealers, or at least the 38 out of 53 who took the carmaker to court seeking a combined $650 million in compensation, they were made to sign new agreements (to continue selling Mercedes’ cars via the agency model) under duress, and claimed the company did not act with goodwill by going ahead with the change despite dealers being opposed to it.

“The dealers invested in the Mercedes-Benz brand by building businesses; they did so under the vendor and purchaser model,” said Tim Castle, the barrister representing the dealers.

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“We say the end result was an unconscionable taking of property. We still run the business – but it’s now Mercedes-Benz that profits from it.”

Mr Castle alleged that the attitude from Mercedes for proceeding with the move was a ‘because we can’, implying the franchise laws in Australia were too weak to stop this sort of behaviour. It had, he said, failed to pay compensation and had failed to acknowledge the investment and risks they had taken over the years.

“There was a power imbalance that existed in this relationship, they did what they did because they thought they could do it.

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“We say it’s simply not the way business is done here in Australia,” he added.

“The purpose and effect was to increase their [Mercedes’] profitability by reducing our profits and extracting higher profits from customers, and secondly to create a direct relationship with customers to the exclusion of dealers.”

Three key issues at the heart of the case involved the timing of the negotiations, who issued the orders for the agency model – Mercedes-Benz Australia or its parent company Daimler AG – and the very meaning of goodwill.

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The timing

According to the dealers, Mercedes-Benz Australia “issued the non-renewal notices at the first step, we say that was not done in good faith” implying the introduction of the agency model was sprung upon them – however, Merc’s representative, Robert Craig, told the court that the conversations about the possibility of the model began back in 2017.

“The [dealers] were brought in very quickly. So by late 2017 what is known to the dealers is that an agency model is at least the preferred model being pursued or looked at on the part of MBA and that is consistent with the fact that by mid-2017 Australia had communicated its preference,” he said.

“The dealers weren’t kept in the dark, they were told exactly what was contemplated as part of the process…within a month of that meeting occurring on March 1 and 2, on April 5, 2018, MBA informed the National Dealer Council that it was preparing a business case for review to determine if the agency model was financially viable in Australia.”

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The court heard that the original date for the agency model to begin in Australia was set for January 1, 2020 – two years earlier than was actually the case, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The issue really emerges late [in the] 2021 process…there are, before one even gets the agreements, 38 meetings. Briefings that occurred more formally again after all of that information had been provided once the agency agreements themselves were provided,” continued Mr Craig.

“So this wasn’t a case of ignoring requests in toto, globally we’re not engaging, steps were taken to engage with and provide information, and sometimes items and aspects were changed. And so we say it is a mistake to say there’s been an absence of good faith in a negotiation process where the dealers haven’t got everything they wanted.

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“Ultimately the thing they didn’t want was agency. And when we come back to look at the terms that our learned friends attack as being unreasonable or unfair, they were all really the essential critical terms of an agency model – fixed pricing, no discounting.”

Justice Jonathan Beach asked Mercedes to explain the allegation that dealers had not been given slides of presentations made about the agency model to take away with them from the workshops where it was discussed, as he said it “significantly puts them at a disadvantage in terms of considering what’s being put to them by Mercedes”.

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Mr Craig said the dealers had been given minutes of each workshop, but accepted it did not amount to the same thing.

In turn however, Justice Beach called out Mr Castle on some of the dealers’ language around Mercedes’ actions, saying: “You don’t need to use that sort of adjective do you, or description ‘dishonest’ or ‘dishonesty’.

You can just say, ‘here’s the level of information at a level that was going to allow the dealers to actively participate in a negotiation or make decisions’.”

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Whose idea was it?

A lot of court time was also dedicated to the idea proposed by the dealers that it was parent company Daimler AG in Germany pushing for the agency model, and that it was pulling the strings rather than Mercedes-Benz Australia acting of its own freewill.

However, Mr Craig quashed that idea, saying: “There isn’t a single document which demonstrates that Mercedes-Benz Australia (MBA) had the judgment that the agency model was the wrong thing to be advocating for and pursuing in Australia, or that MBA was being told, directed to do something in the implementation or the actuality of the agency model against its judgment.

“Even if MBAG directed or had a direction to implement the agency model in Australia…exercising its judgment, MBA thought it was the right thing.”

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What is goodwill?

While Mr Castle acknowledged that the dealers had signed up to enter the agency model agreements, despite their reservations, he contended that just because Mercedes did not act maliciously during negotiations that this did not constitute acting with goodwill.

“The focus here is on the action…it’s not about generalised good faith, not generally whether people are nice people…[it’s] the issuing of non-renewal notices and the course of conduct that leads to the substitution of the agency agreement for the dealer agreement,” said Mr Castle.

Justice Beach, however, questioned this, asking: “Strictly your complaint is that they give you enough time to negotiate the form of the agency agreement. Are you saying that’s a lack of good faith under the dealer agreement? And we all know that’s coming to an end in December in any event, you’re really talking about that as an absence of good faith in relation to the negotiation of the proposed new agreement aren’t you?”

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To this Mr Castle replied: “Yes, perhaps.”

“Certainly Mercedes-Benz was negotiating on the assumption [the agreement was ending] our assumption was that the notice of non-renewal had been served, which is slightly different,” he continued.

“We all need to continue to work together. What we would say is that a good faith negotiation may have produced a different result. One of the things we could have said is let’s keep talking and see if we can resolve this. That might have been one of the things that came out of it. And Mercedes-Benz might have said ‘well, we will continue dealership’. We don’t know.”

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But the judge wasn’t totally convinced.

“There was a prospect that you might have got Mercedes to pull the notices of non-renewal or postpone the start date for agency, and you haven’t really run that case tied causally into what you would describe as poor behaviour by Mercedes and the negotiations in 2021,” Justice Beach said.

“I’m, at the moment, a little up in the air myself about how some of your criticisms about the 2021 conduct transposed into a cause of action and a remedy, if I find that the notices were validly given. Apart from just injecting poison into the whole case and saying statutory unconscionability. I don’t know what you’re asking from me.”

According to the Mercedes team, the company was bringing the dealership agreement to an end, not the relationship, and in mounting their case and presenting it to the court the dealers had shown a “fundamental misunderstanding of goodwill”.

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While the dealers said: “[It is] something we generate by the way we run our business…the prerequisite gives us the right to operate the business, but the goodwill from operating the business is because of what we do.”

“You attract custom because you are a Mercedes dealer and if you’re a really good one you’re going to attract more custom,” queried the judge. “I’m not convinced of how you’re reading this but anyway…”

“Goodwill will have different sources depending on the facts of the case…The critical point being in our case that the source of the goodwill is the right to sell Mercedes-Benz vehicles using its trademarks and logos under the dealer agreement,” counter-argued Mr Craig.

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“What we’re concerned with is good faith in the decision to exercise non-renewal. A power which can only serve the interests of the party on whom the power is conferred [in this case being Mercedes] – that power having been validly exercised, not in a capricious or arbitrary way, is, we say, the end of the good faith inquiry.

“The applicants have failed to establish that Mercedes-Benz Australia issued the non-renewal notices for the improper purpose of continuing or maintaining the relationship and to transfer the goodwill in each dealership to MBA. [There is a] disconnect between the pleaded case and the case against us in writing in this regard.”

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“It’s quite unusual though isn’t it, an unusual feature of this case that dealers entering into an agreement which has this one-year term with this notice of non-renewal power and yet they are committing whatever resources they have to being a Mercedes dealer,” mused Justice Beach.

“They are taking on quite a degree of risk and you might say why are they doing that? Presumably they are trusting Mercedes in terms of the quality of the brand, the way it paves. It is an unusual feature so there is some element of trust or expectation of behaviour that the dealers, I think, can infer had, and you would have appreciated that.”

“This is the businessman’s gamble,” replied Mr Craig.

• ⚡ ALL ELECTRIC VEHICLE ADVICE

Decarbonizing the value chain is a huge challenge.

As far as the Neue Klasse goes, BMW intends to increase the use of unmixed renewable mono materials by 40% over five years, reduce the number of parts by 20%, cut the weight by 25%, and introduce standardised joining and dismantling techniques – all in an attempt to help establish a new pan-European or even global set of rules for the upcycling of essential second-life raw materials.

Instead of light but expensive aluminium giga castings (select body parts constructed from two or three main components), the Munich-based firm has reportedly opted for a less energy-intensive and even stiffer steel-alloy compound matrix.

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The monocoque concept and the cell-to-pack approach improve the space utilisation by 30% over the CLAR WE conversion architecture used for the 7 Series & i7, along with the X1/iX1 & X3/iX3.

And there are more numerical bullet points lighting the halo, like batteries with a 20% higher energy density, an average WLTP consumption of 13.0kWh/100km (against 16.1kWh/100km for the current i4 electric sedan), 30% faster charging, a 30% increase in range – and a 25% overall efficiency improvement, supported by a standard heat pump.

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Can BMW further qualify that latter claim – improving overall efficiency by a huge 25%?

According to CTO Frank Weber, the key efficiency contributors are – in this order – powertrain, low rolling resistance tyres, aerodynamics, weight, wheel bearings and brakes.

The 800V Gen VI drivetrain marks the switch from prismatic to round LFP and NMC batteries, powering between one and four motors. With vented bottoms and a sandwich cooling system, they promise a superior thermal state.

The battery cells will be supplied to BMW specification by CATL (which also supplies Tesla), along with EDE and Northvolt from six plants in Europe, China and North America.

Thanks to a new electrical system and advanced performance electronics, it takes less than 12 minutes to bunker enough energy for the next 322 kilometres (200 miles).

To be built in ten different lean, green and digital ‘i Factories’ spread over three continents, the Neue Klasse is expected to feature a wide choice of battery and power output configurations. Although not yet announced, the initial range of scalable power packs is understood to be rated at 75, 90 and 105kWh.

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While the base single-motor rear-wheel-drive model should need no more than (223kW) 300bhp to fend off its main rivals, the four-motor all-electric M3 and M4 heroes might shatter the magic 1000bhp barrier (745kW) – more than enough to neutralise that battery-related 300kg-plus weight penalty.

Production in the brand-new i Factory in Debrecen, Hungary, is scheduled to start in November 2024 – but almost one more year will likely pass before the first cars arrive at dealerships.

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The Vision Neue Klasse concept not only highlights BMW‘s step-by-step transformation from combustion engines to EVs – it also takes digitalisation and circularity to a new level.

Vision Circular Vision Dee, Vision Neue Klasse – three concept cars in only two years, with one consistent claim: BMW is fully committed to an emission-free future.

So are the other key players in the car industry, of course, but the Bavarian Mobility Wizards (™ G Kacher? – Ed.) are quick to point out that the models destined to roam the roads of tomorrowland do not only qualify as planet savers, but also as personalised ultimate driving machines.

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Vision Circular was the first to introduce eye-catching redesigned front and rear ends defined not merely by lights, kidney and grille

The evolution of these concepts is clear: Vision Circular lifted the art of recycling to a new level; Vision Dee introduced the panoramic head-up display along with an on-demand low-voltage colour-changing paint substitute dubbed E Ink; and now Vision Neue Klasse is about to showcase an advanced cell-to-pack architecture crammed with breakthrough technologies in a fresh low-drag signature wrapping.

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Vision Circular was the first to introduce eye-catching redesigned front and rear ends defined not merely by lights, kidney and grille but by fully integrated free-form display areas conceived to contain headlamps, taillights and supporting graphic elements.

Vision Dee packaged these themes in a larger three-box body the proportions of which bore a strong resemblance to that other model which pulled BMW back from the brink, the 1502-2002tii built between 1966 and 1977.

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In a third step, Vision Neue Klasse blows up this unmistakable contemporary DNA to the 4750mm footprint of a 3 Series saloon.

But wait a minute – is this segment not already spoken for with the i4? It is, and it isn’t – because the i4 GranCoupé still uses the older CLAR WE conversion platform which also underpins the 7 Series & i7, along with the X1/iX1 & X3/iX3.

Starting in 2025, however, all future BMW EVs will eventually move to a dedicated architecture no longer capable of accommodating ICE or PHEV applications. This matrix will, over a period of almost four years, be introduced in four different formats: NA (3 & 4 Series and X3/X4), NB (1 & 2 Series and X1/X2), NC (5 & 6 Series and X5/X6) and ND (7 & 8 Series, X7, XM and Alpina).

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BMW Group design chief Adrian van Hooydonk describes his team’s latest effort as “sporty, compact and elegant. A set of characteristic lines and surfaces compiles a subtle and unpretentious shape with nicely balanced proportions.”

Despite Munich being one of Germany’s more conservative cities, van Hooydonk cheekily adds: “We consider ourselves to be the southernmost German car manufacturer – which explains why the Neue Klasse strives to capture the cool ease and expertly crafted lightness typical of the great Italian design houses like Giugiaro, Frua, Bertone, Michelotti and Pininfarina all of whom have done work for us in the past.”

The most evident homage to the brand history is the forward-slanting sharknose front end, a must-have cue since the iconic 1956 BMW 507 penned by Graf Goertz.

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But, for the first time, individual giveaways like the four round headlamps and the air intakes on both sides of the trademark kidney are compiled in a single area – which also houses cameras, radar and infrared sensors.

Cooling is now by means of two upright lateral ducts, a large centre horizontal aperture in the lower bumper section and a brace of underfloor scoops. A similar design theme was conceived for the rear end, where the typical L-shaped taillights have given way to an animated full-width light bar which varies in colour, depth and intensity. Nose and tail can stage various visual enactments from subtle and subdued, to dynamic and sporty.

Some orchestrations are by law at this point restricted to parked vehicles, while others can be triggered on the move – like when the car is communicating to pedestrians, cyclists or other road users.

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In a next step, the coated rear side windows can become temporary multi-purpose message boards

A brief change in illumination from defensive to striking does for instance beat flashing the guy ahead; momentary visual interactions can make pedestrian crossings a much safer place; the taillights double as on-demand state-of-charge indicators; and moving spotlights on both sides of the car welcome driver and passenger, or see them off safely.

Although the dramatic low-voltage E Ink technology which allows the concept’s body colour to change at the push of a button is still about five years away from production, certain applications – like sensor surfaces which highlight the touch-sensitive door openers – are already part of the Neue Klasse textbook. In a next step, the coated rear side windows can become temporary multi-purpose message boards.

Individual flair can be applied at both ends, too. The M and M Performance models will still feature bespoke panels with a more sporting look, but for regular models, there can be unique front and rear signature graphics and lighting effects.

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Inside the Vision Neue Klasse sedan

BMW’s infotainment controller went from weird addition to addictively popular and capable – just in time for it to be phased out.

When BMW introduced the first iDrive system back in 2001, the ‘upside-down espresso cup’ controller was at least as controversial and polarising as the beaver-teeth grille of the current 4 Series or the stacked headlamps of the 7.

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Over 20 years later, the eventually popular rotary controller is on its way out again as a mushrooming mix of large displays and touchscreens supported by voice and gesture commands rings in the next chapter of BMW’s infotainment journey.

Knobs, switches and buttons remain a no-go in the Neue Klasse, and the main monitor is unfortunately still not fully adjustable in reach, tilt or format – but compensation arrives in the shape of a 3D-animated and assisted head-up display, a larger centre screen, a less complex multi-functional steering-wheel, and of course the full-width BMW Panoramic Vision which looks a bit like the ticker tape on the bottom of a TV newsreel.

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Does it work?

We don’t know yet, but the primary field of vision is uncluttered, the prioritised data flow puts the key information right below the further improved head-up display, and the content can be regrouped or augmented at random from the icon and widget pool by a simple two-finger gesture.

VR enhanced instruments, a more talented Personal Assistant, multi-mood ambient lighting and additional My Modes programmes offer more content, a broader range of options and new feel-good features for a personalised user experience with a twist.

“We don’t want high-tech to dominate the cockpit,” says Adrian van Hooydonk. “That’s why the next-generation iDrive system pioneered by the Neue Klasse offers an even more intuitive and failsafe approach to vehicle ergonomics, which reduces driver distraction – the number one cause of accidents – to an absolute minimum.”

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If the few moments I spent inside the Vision Neue Klasse were anything to go by, light is the new chrome, recycled fabric is the new leather and man-made materials are the new wood.

Even though animal hide and timber remain on the option list for the time being, the project team would much rather talk about fishing nets turned into fashionable door panels, and shredded fast-fashion garments resurfacing as lemony-soft second-life corduroy upholstery.

NEXT ?

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New recall notices have been issued, affecting Ford, Kia, Hyundai, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz and Audi vehicles.

The 2021-23 Ford Ranger and Everest recall is limited to 4841 examples with the 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel and an electronic gear shifter.

The details of each recall, as published, are posted below.

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• What is a recall?
• What to do if your car is recalled
• Why a car recall isn’t all bad news
• What is a vehicle identification number (VIN)?
• All ANCAP & vehicle safety stories

It’s no secret that selling more cars makes more money and that, in our society, making more money is the aim of the game.

Except, sometimes that isn’t the case. Instead of more cars, you can sell them at higher margins. That’s what brands like Honda, Mazda, Hyundai and others are chasing as they move their images (and prices) upmarket.

Meanwhile, Chinese-made cars are flooding Australian shores with cheap prices and healthy stock levels being key sales motivators. Tesla is a key example, delivering boatloads of Model 3s and Model Ys to Australians monthly.

Polestar’s a little different. Yes it’s a premium brand, and it is charging more money for its products than, say, Tesla (the longest range Model 3 is $1000 cheaper than the equivalent Polestar 2) but Polestar’s vehicles aren’t wildly out of line with expectations – in fact the 2 undercuts Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 rival.

Polestar is also very much about increasing EV uptake for the broader population and is keen to have a big impact on impending fuel efficiency standards that may be here by 2025.

I think Australia needs to really embrace the first step

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When Wheels asked Samantha Johnson, head of Polestar Australia, what sales figures would make her and the team happy come 2025 with all four models (2, 3, 4, and 5) on sale, she shrugged the question off.

“We don’t provide projections”, Samantha told Wheels. “We’ll keep giving [sales] updates as we go each month but [where we are is] very healthy for us.

We see our brand being very different to what’s out there in the market, we’re very confident in who we are and our sustainability messaging. We really are part of that community and part of building EV infrastructure in Australia and making sure we’re doing what we can with policy advocacy, end-of-life battery recycling, and doing what we can to be part of that story

And, when asked what could bring Polestar’s sales figures up higher than Teslas, Johnson firmly reiterated that ‘beating’ other brands isn’t the goal. The still-small Polestar operation is about growing sustainably, with strategic expansion into EV-friendly areas of North Sydney and Canberra involving new experience centres next.

The company, (currently on track for around 3000 sales this year) is likely to increase market share to over 5000 units annually, as a conservative estimate.

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What are Polestar’s goals, then?

Corporate altruism is a strange thing and it can be hard to trust a billionaire-backed structure. Funnily enough, when a company opens up a line of questioning itself – for example, Polestar’s choice to trace materials such as lithium and cobalt using Blockchain technology to minimise human rights abuses – it becomes much easier to interrogate its ethics.

But Apple (whose laptop I’m typing on right now, between texting questions to people on my iPhone) and car companies have typically retained opaque supply chains – staying quiet invites less questioning.

Polestar is in a unique position to other Chinese-owned carmakers, too. MG, for example, now falls under SAIC’s brand umbrella, a company that’s a state-owned enterprise where Geely’s chairman is billionaire Chinese businessman Li Shufu.

Polestar remains open in its self-critique, using lower CO₂ figures achieved to build Polestar 2s (that has dropped 15 per cent since launch) as marketing material. By refining material sourcing, Polestar is trying to lead by example. Tesla, for example, does not tout the amount of CO₂ involved in producing a Model 3 sedan, or how much is used to ship it to its final destination.

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“We can’t go on this journey on our own. There’s a lot that needs to be done from a sustainability perspective, and also in protecting human rights, and it can’t be one company or one industry that does all the work,” Samantha told Wheels.

Attempting to limit global temperature increase to a ‘safe’ 1.5ºC by 2030, as the IPCC report recommends, requires all industries to work together. For the auto industry, that means drastically reducing emissions from tailpipes, in vehicle production, and supply chains. This requires an openness, says Polestar.

As for what can drive people to reduce emissions? Polestar sees this firstly as a legislature issue and continues to consult with government and industry bodies as it pushes for fuel efficiency standards that may arrive in 2025.

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“Until we have [fuel efficiency standards] in place, we’re going to end up with the old petrol and diesel cars”, said Samantha. She sees this as the first step – to make it easier for manufacturers to justify bringing low-emissions vehicles to Australia.

When asked if she thought New Zealand’s approach could work, she replied “firstly, it’s about putting the standards in place, and maybe then it is penalties.

“If you have a fee-bait scheme [like NZ] it adds a lot [of policy] in one go, I think Australia’s just really getting to that first stage. So put stage one in place, and then move to that next stage when you’ve got there. I think Australia needs to really embrace the first step”, she told Wheels.

It’s rare for a car company to admit it made a mistake. It’s rarer still for that admission to be made publicly by the CEO of the company.

So when the head honcho of Volkswagen, Thomas Shafer, confessed that VW’s current button-lite cabins had “frustrated” owners and had “caused a lot of damage”, we grabbed the popcorn and nodded our heads in furious agreement.

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Shafer’s comments echoed what many of us had been saying for years: sometimes the simplest solutions are best. And for car interiors, that means buttons and dials.

Who wants to swipe, prod and take your eyes off the road to adjust the AC fan speed when you can twist a trusty knob that’s always where you left it?

It isn’t only the VW Group that’s been waging war on buttons, of course. Tesla’s minimal cabin design is virtually button free. Lexus has long been a culprit of burying key functions inside multi-stage menus. And Ford seems to have followed Tesla’s example with the huge centre touchscreen in the soon-to-arrive Mustang Mach E.

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The problem with buttons in car interiors, of course, is that they take up space. And, if you have too many of them – remember when Porsche went button mad with the previous-gen Panamera? – they can look ugly.

So you can understand why car companies have tried to get rid of them. Clean and minimal interiors also give manufacturers a chance to show how clever and high-tech they are with features like haptic feedback, touch-sensitive sliders and gesture control.

The issue, however, is actually using a high-tech, minimalist cabin can be incredibly frustrating. You could even call them a touch dangerous, given that some force you to take your eyes off the road as you prod, swipe and push to access the air recirculation, adjust the climate control or even adjust the volume of the stereo.

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So what’s to be done? The good news is this is an issue that seems to be fixing itself.

Volkswagen has already corrected course with models like the new-gen Tiguan which will ditch the controversial haptic steering wheel buttons and climate control sliders. The next-gen Passat and updated Golf, which are due to debut in 2024, will also benefit from the more user-friendly approach.

Skoda has also made a big deal of the cabins of the new Superb and Kodiaq, which will arrive here in 2024. Both models debut new ‘smart dials’ which have their own mini 1.25-inch displays and can control various functions like the temp control, heat seating and ventilation. We’ve seen similar solutions for multi-function dials from Land Rover and Audi and they work well.

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Hyundai’s head of design, Sang Yup Lee, is another fan of old-school buttons, and models like the Ioniq 5 and new-gen Kona strike a great balance between minimalism and sound ergonomics.

The lesson here is that customer feedback, and possibly whinging journos, can make a difference. It’s also a stark reminder of how easily the car industry can disappear down the rabbit hole of its own cleverness.

We’re huge fans of high-tech solutions and clever design here at Wheels but only if they make cars easier and safer to use. Not more difficult.

So kudos, Mr Shafer. We’ll notch the VW Group’s move back to buttons, dials and switches as a rare triumph of commonsense. All we need now is for similar thinking to be applied to “virtual mirrors”…

Timo Bernhard has won Le Mans twice, taken the chequered flag at the 12 Hours of Sebring, has stood on the top step of the podium at the 24 Hours of Daytona and is a five-time winner of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

It’s fair to say that he’s fairly handy behind the wheel and has some hair-raising stories of racing at these blue-riband events. But when Wheels caught up with him at the recent launch of the Porsche 718 Spyder RS, there was one thing we had to know. What was it like to smash the Nürburgring lap record?

Some backstory first. The pre-existing lap record had stood since 1983 when the late and great Stefan Bellof set a mark of 6m11.13s in his Porsche 956 while qualifying for the Nürburgring 1000km. That’s an average speed of 202.073km/h. For years, this mark seemed unassailable.

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Porsche owned the record then and would come to own it again when they unleashed the 919 Hybrid Evo.

In 2007, internet sleuths pieced together the full throttle parts of ‘Quick’ Nick Heidfeld’s demonstration lap in his BMW Sauber F1 car and came to the conclusion that if he’d stayed on it throughout the lap rather than slowing for photographic duties, it was likely that the laptime would have started with a five. Bellof’s mark was mortal after all.

Maybe it wasn’t BMW’s time to take. Porsche owned the record then and would come to own it again when they unleashed the 919 Hybrid Evo. Here’s where things get a little controversial for this was a car developed from the LMP1 racer but was designed outside of racing formulae.

Its sole purpose was to demolish lap records and with ex-World Endurance Champion Bernhard at the wheel, it did exactly that.

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When the watches stopped as the 919 Evo screamed across the line, the result was astonishing.

A new mark of 5m19.546s had taken nearly a minute off Bellof’s mark for the 20.832km full lap. The average speed? A scarcely credible 233.8km/h.

The technical details of the 919 Evo are dizzying. Its 2.0-litre hybrid V4 develops a system output of 853kW and weighs just 849kg. Its active aero system generates over 50 percent more downforce compared to the WEC formula racer. During the Nordschleife lap Bernhard logged a v-max of 369.4 km/h on the Dottinger Hohe straight.

Watch the onboard video [↗] of Bernhard lapping the Nordschleife and it’s almost detached from reality. It looks improbably sped-up. So when we got the chance to ask Bernhard a few questions about the lap, we wanted to know a few key details.

ANDY ENRIGHT: When you set that lap time, did you think there was some time left on the table or did you think you’d pretty much nailed it?

TIMO BERNHARD: It was hard to know. We’d done a lot of work on the car and had one last chance that day. We’d had issues with the car boosting at certain places in the lap.

We’d originally had the boost set automatically and we were still finding it boosting as I was [trying to come off gas for corners]. We also had to change the ride height and play with the balance of the motors.

AE: So there were many different variables to contend with?

TB: Yes. I don’t know what the ‘perfect’ lap time would be but we were happy with what we achieved. I’d set up the DRS system manually beforehand and during the record run, I didn’t need to operate that manually at all. It was all pre-set.

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AE: The in-car footage was crazy. How did it feel?

TB: There were points when it was relatively comfortable to manage and there were also sections where everything was coming at me so fast that I was just holding on. At Pflanzgarten I was thinking, okay, that’s the limit for my comprehension.

AE: Was the 919 Evo an intimidating car to drive?

TB: It was super-intensive. At those speeds you need to take into account every single surface change. And the 919 would wheelspin in fifth in the dry. I’d never experienced a car that would do this, so that was something that I needed to get used to.

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AE: Did the speed of the 919 Evo turn what used to be sections where you might lift off the throttle into proper braking zones?

TB: No, not so much. It had so much downforce that you just needed to stay committed and trust that it would stick.

AE: How was the response?

TB: It’s been crazy. I had one fan come up to me and he had the lap time tattooed on his leg. 5:19.546 – three decimal places! He was super-excited.

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After setting the record, Bernhard drove himself home and took a phone call en route.

The caller? Stefan Bellof’s father. Georg went on to thank Timo for tributes he and the Porsche team had paid to his son, and was keen to send his regards to the new king of the ‘Ring.