Yes, it’s a Jaguar, folks, but almost certainly not as you know it.
This is not a supple-riding, dignified conveyance for men who fold their knitwear.
In fact, if you own a pipe, slippers, or a fat labrador who sleeps by the fire, you are almost certainly not going like, nor get, the new F-Type.
What it is, friends, is a resurrection of Jaguar’s sports-car heritage, which fizzled into history in the early ‘70s when the penis-on-wheels E-Type was finally retired from stud. So keep an open mind.
The F-Type encapsulates just how much has changed in the intervening 40 or so years. So if you pay more than $50 for a haircut, possibly have tattoos, and are left a bit lukewarm toward a base Porsche, this could very likely be the sports car to ignite your mojo.
The three-car range kicks off with the 250kW V6, which, at around $139K before on-roads and options, is compelling value for those with one eye on the till.
Like the V6 S model above it, you get Jag’s 3.0-litre supercharged V6, here making 250kW while delivering 0-100km/h in a claimed 5.3sec.
Naturally you also have the ultra-rigid all-aluminium structure, the totally cool and driver-centric ‘one-plus one’ cabin, and a soundtrack which will make you wonder which crazy Italian from Maserati’s sonics departments was poached to make a modern Jag sound this joyous.
It’s not just induction, nor exhaust, it’s a whole crackling, popping, belching, spitting cacophony that comes with every upshift or lifted throttle. I challenge you to not cack yourself laughing when first exposed to it.
Meanwhile, the steering is hydraulically assisted, immaculately weighted and tactile, the damping and body control expertly calibrated, as you’d expect from a company with dynamics legend Mike Cross leading the team.
It’s quick-ish, quite agile, very polished, and utterly engaging. It makes a base Boxster feel a fraction ‘straight’ and undernourished, and is a must-drive for anyone even vaguely tempted to this two-seater segment.
Now here comes the ‘but’. The mid-level model, above, the V6 S, adds $30K, yet brings a bunch of key performance upgrades no keen driver will want to be without.
The extra 30kW are handy for over taking blasts, yes, but the S model’s standard dynamic suite, which includes, crucially, adaptive dampers and limited-slip diff, raise the car’s involvement and cornering prowess to a ‘next level’ stage you can’t ignore.
If you’re sufficiently into cars enough to read Wheels and you’re on the fence, spend the extra.
The V6S is a raucous, beautifully balanced and involving sportscar that will reignite anyone’s passion for driving and have even the most jaded car perv setting the Sunday morning alarm for 5.30.
As for the V8 S, well, it’s something of a 500 horsepower animal, almost a factory-polished example of a low-volume, open-top, rear-drive weapon.
Compared with the odious, ugly X6 or the awkward, ponderous 5 Series GT, the new 3 Series Gran Turismo is relatively inoffensive.
But it is another baffling BMW, a car that makes you wonder if Munich is beginning to lose focus on the qualities which made the brand great.
This hefty hatchback is based on the same long-wheelbase 3 Series platform as the ‘L’ sedan, built specifically for the Chinese market.
The extra distance between front and rear axles delivers a big gain in rear-seat legroom and accounts for more than half the 200mm increase in overall vehicle length compared with the 3 Series Touring wagon.
Simple changes to front and rear suspensions increase ground clearance, and the new GT body also has a taller floor-to-roof measurement.
Designed to be roomy and versatile without being a wagon, high-seated and easy to enter without being an SUV, luxuriously roomy without being a big limousine, and with frameless side glass filling its I-really-wanted-to-be-a-coupe daylight opening, the 3 Series GT, unsurprisingly, looks a little confused. BMW claims there’s a niche in the market for something that combines the attributes of other vehicle types.
Maybe there is, but aiming to satisfy the kind of customer who knows exactly what they don’t want has inflicted collateral exterior-design damage.
Although the 3 Series GT’s greater bulk doesn’t bring a great increase in weight, its height and higher centre of gravity affect the way it drives. And not in a good way.
On the winding roads of western Sicily, where the international launch was staged, the BMW felt the opposite of agile. The complete numbness of the electrically assisted steering, with its odd resistance to moving off from centre, is one of the chief reasons it’s unsatisfying.
Both the 3 Series GT’s sampled in Sicily were adaptive suspension equipped (it’s an option in Europe, and Australia may follow suit). Before electronic dampers were commonplace, BMW had a richly deserved reputation for doing suspensions that balanced ride and handling better than anyone.
‘Comfort’ in the adaptive-suspension 3 Series GT is distinctly underdamped on ill-maintained roads. In Sicily, switching to ‘Sport’ actually improved ride comfort. It also brought a pointless increase in weighting of the lifeless steering and made the drivetrain more responsive.
While there are five engines in the launch line-up for Europe, only three are presently planned for mid-year release in Australia, at prices ranging from $70,000 to $76,000. They are the 135kW 320i and 180kW 328i turbo 2.0-litre spark-ignition fours, and the 2.0-litre 135kW 320d turbo-diesel four. Of these, only the 320d was present at the international launch.
Although the engine doesn’t struggle with the 1650kg kerb weight of the 3 Series GT and the eight-speed auto is sweetly responsive, it felt like BMW’s engineers ran out of time to polish refinement. There was more noise than expected when the engine was asked to work hard and at idle the steering wheel vibrated in time to the diesel’s beat.
The best time and place to appreciate the 3 Series GT is on a motorway and from the hugely roomy rear.
With the engine working easily and quietly you can lounge comfortably in the high-set seat and appreciate the high-quality materials and fine workmanship of the car’s attractive interior.
Trouble is, ‘Ultimate Passengering Machine’ isn’t the company slogan. Not yet…
What’s a nice drivetrain like you doing in a place like this?
Mercedes-Benz’s updated, 20-percent-less-thirsty 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel and seven-speed automatic is an effective, efficient and refined combination.
But imprisoned inside the updated GL, their virtues are overwhelmed. Despite a mid-life rework that slims it by a claimed 90kg, the GL350 BlueTec is still heavy.
It’s also huge, clumsy and charmless.
Car makers prefer, where possible, to build where they sell. The GL rolls out of Mercedes-Benz’s US factory in Tuscaloosa, and is clearly scaled for a land whose ‘L’ is everyone else’s ‘XXL’.
The GL is more than 5.1 metres long, 1.9 metres wide (not counting exterior mirrors) and 1.8 metres tall (without the optional, ground-clearance-enhancing off-road package).
It is conceivable that there are people out there who need, really need, a spacious seven-seater with permanent all-wheel drive and a 3.5-tonne towing capacity.
Those who don’t have a genuine use for these abilities could find their consequences hard to live with.
Even though Mercedes has switched to aluminium for the facelifted GL-Class’s bonnet and front guards, its kerb weight (which includes a driver, some luggage and an almost-full 100-litre fuel tank) is a massive 2455kg.
Acceleration from standstill is adequate, but it’s agility that suffers most.
A new, and standard, pneumatic suspension system with adaptive dampers means that the GL rides decently, but the handling is something like self-stimulation while wearing welder’s gloves.
There’s only the vaguest sense of contact with the action.
Whether this is intentional, because Mercedes believes Americans prefer it this way, or a result of interference from multiple electronic safety systems with which the GL is equipped, is hard to judge.
Passengers have less to complain about. The three-place second-row seat is spacious and comfy and the two-place rear seat will actually accommodate adults, although not in great comfort.
The GL’s length also means there’s some room for luggage left, even with all the seats filled.
Mercedes claims the GL is a kind of all-wheel-drive S-Class wagon, and it’s not entirely wrong.
The interior has the right amount of leather and wood, and enough technology on display, to back this assertion.
Changes like the adoption of a new acoustic-barrier windscreen for the GL also contribute an ambience that’s quite refined.
But while S-Class could serve as a working definition of luxury limo, the GL isn’t so crisply delineated.
It’s a seven-seat off-roader, but lacks the boxy design honesty of something like Land Rover’s upright and equally accommodating Discovery.
It has upper-class aspirations, but lacks the haughty presence of a Range Rover.
The GL might work in America, where aristocracy is unacceptable but status is worshipped, and that’s where it belongs. Not here…
The pace is quickening at Audi. Where once the Ingolstadt brand made enthusiasts wait two years for S models and four years for the stonking RS – if they get one at all – Ingolstadt is keen to feed consumer hunger faster.
And that’s on top of regularly updating a core model range that has grown from six to 18 in two decades.
Nowhere is the pace hotter, the attention greater, the competition more fierce, than in the small-car segment.
That’s why we’re driving the S3 Sportback just three months after Carey tested the all-important A3 on which it’s based.
The S3 won’t land here until December, seven months after the A3, and, like the A3 range, initially it’ll be five-door only. Unlike the auto-only A3, the S3 Sportback gets a six-speed manual as standard, though most buyers are expected to go for the six-speed dual-clutch auto.
The S3’s engine is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot which Audi says shares nothing but its bore and stroke measurements – and therefore capacity – with the previous 188kW/330Nm engine.
It shares a lot more with the new Golf GTI, although the Audi version gets modified pistons and higher-strength conrods, and more boost which ups the ante to 221kW and 380Nm.
That’s more than the Golf GTI and enough, says Audi, for 0-100km/h in 4.8sec. Not so long ago that would be astounding in a hot hatch; these days it’s line-ball with the BMW M135i and forthcoming Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG.
But that doesn’t stop it being impressive performance for a sub-$70K hatchback, especially with claimed 6.9L/100km fuel economy.
The five-door is 35kg heavier than the 1490kg three-door dual-clutch I drove at the launch, which makes it an impressive 70kg lighter than the old model.
So it’s no surprise the S3 feels considerably quicker than its predecessor.
This new engine has serious punch, and sounds gravelly when angered. But you’d expect that, because the good notes are piped into the cabin as is common these days.
The programmed backfiring on gearchanges and overrun is nice but not convincing. After a while it sounds artificial, which I suppose it is. But still, it’s supposed to be evocative, right?
Moving the lighter engine back in the wheelbase has improved steering response and turn-in, but there’s still little communication with the driver.
The suspension copes well with German roads, but can feel brittle over broken surfaces. Magnetic dampers do a good job of firming up the chassis in Dynamic mode.
Overall, the S3 is fast and competent, but lacks a sense of occasion.
Backfiring and a rorty engine note aren’t enough to make it feel alive and engaging.
But still, it’s hard to get picky over sub-5sec performance for $70K. And no doubt there’ll be an even more exciting RS3 along in a year.
Just five months before it was replaced, Golf VI easily won a 13-car Wheels’ Mega Test.
So the arrival of the even better Golf VII is surely the stuff of nightmares for rival car makers: VW has further sharpened pricing, improved economy, increased roominess and introduced a raft of advanced technology that only recently belonged in luxury cars.
The debut of the premium Highland version delivers a Golf that rivals BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz small cars in terms of refinement, performance and quality, and undercuts them on price unless you dive deep into the options list.
The result of a simplified range – drivetrain variants drop from nine to four – moves the Golf further away from its sub-$20K rivals.
Electing to open the range with the new, all-alloy 1.4-litre EA211 engine in 90kW form – the old 1.4 made 77kW – ensures that all Australian Golfs get the superior multi-link rear suspension. Any Golf VII with less than 90kW now comes with a cheaper, torsion beam rear suspension.
After being hugely impressed by the 103kW petrol and 110kW diesel Golfs at the international launch, we opted to taste the base $21,490 90TSI on local roads. How does it drive?
Well, like a Golf, so no surprises.
The turbo engine is all but inaudible most of the time (at least to 5500rpm) and revs smoothly to the 6000rpm redline and on to the soft 6500rpm cutout.
It’s not a high-revver, making peak power between 5000 to 6000rpm, with 200Nm of torque available from 1400-4000rpm, and wonderfully flexible with a strong mid-range.
In combination with a swift, light and accurate gearchange, the broad spread of power is easily accessed and without obvious turbo lag.
This is a fine drivetrain, lively enough to disguise its entry-level role, although it does demand a diet of 95RON fuel. Only a throttle travel that’s long and mushy in its first movements – the 103kW is even more doughy in feel – detracts from initial responsiveness.
The 90TSI runs 195/65R15 rubber on steel wheels and, as expected, the ride is supple, beautifully smooth and quiet. As you move up through the range – the extra $3500 Comfortline delivers alloys and 205/55R16s, the $31,990 DSG-only Highline 225/45R17s – compliance is reduced, the ride less smooth.
The most comfortable Golf is the cheapest.
The 90TSI still changes direction promptly, though the softer chassis settings ensure there’s more lateral bodyroll than the upscale variants. Still, the resolute front-end grip never deteriorates into heavy understeer and the chassis balance happily involves the rear end: lift or trail brake into a corner and there’s a subtle shift in attitude that adds to the Golf’s driver appeal.
The Golf VII steers accurately and smoothly, if without the directness of the Ford Focus, especially around the straight- ahead, where the VW feels slightly muted and less connected.
It’s a different philosophy: VW R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg calls the Focus steering “nervous”, we’d argue that the Ford feels more agile. Either way, both are a class above the opposition, and the Golf’s dynamic cohesion and stability perfectly suit the car’s all-rounder character.
A 59mm increase in wheelbase to a more competitive 2620mm (still 30mm shy of the Focus), adds to interior space, and the black cloth upholstered front buckets are comfortable and supportive.
Rear accommodation is plentiful for the class and the boot has grown 30 litres to 380L.
The cooking variety Golf VII remains very Golfy; extremely competent, easy and satisfying to drive, with remarkable levels of refinement and economy.
The looks are slightly sharper than its predecessor and it remains unmistakably a Golf. Just better value than ever before.
Kia’s naked ambition is there for the world – including Australia – to see.
It’s writ boldly in the great styling of the new, bigger and better Cerato sedan, along with a couple of energetic engines, enhanced safety package, excellent equipment-for-your bucks, and an appealing ride-and-handling tune courtesy of local engineers.
Yes, the new Cerato four-door sedan kicks plenty of goals. A five-door hatch follows mid year, and then the Koup.
For now, though, it’s the sedan, offered in base S, Si and SLi grades, with choices of two petrol engines (1.8- and 2.0-litre fours) and six-speed manual or auto transmissions.
The punchier engine is the advanced 129kW/209Nm 2.0-litre GDI, good for 0-100km/h in 8.5sec, but the 1.8 specific to the entry-level Cerato S wins plenty of friends with its willingness to rev (rather noisily in the upper reaches, it must be said).
The 1.8 doesn’t feel a lot less energetic than the 2.0-litre alternative. Spoiling the fun a little is the vague shifting action of the manual.
Commit an extra $2000 and opt for the auto.
With prices starting at $19,990 for the manual, punters get a handsome beast with equipment galore – keyless entry, air, front and rear sensors, stability control, power mirrors and windows, six-speaker single-CD tuner with MP3, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, and steering wheel-mounted controls for phone, cruise, and multi-function trip-computer scrolling.
A stiffer body and six airbags are expected to help deliver five-star ANCAP safety. It also scores Kia’s FlexSteer variable steering system, which gives the driver the choice of three different weightings, but no change in feel or directness. It’s a marketing wank.
The SL and SLi, both with obligatory 129kW 2.0 four, get more equipment (reversing camera, alloys) and improved trim (and prices up to $30,990 for the automatic range-topper with seven-inch sat-nav, leather seats, 17s, LED running lamps, and lots of tasty fruit including shifting paddles and sunroof).
The suspension, with independent strut front and torsion beam rear, has received plenty of work to make the third-gen Cerato range happier on Australian roads.
It’s not transformed into a sports sedan, but it is a very competent handler with improved compliance over bumps and a reasonable ride compromise.
Shame the steering doesn’t cut it.
Fuel efficiency is part of the Cerato’s appeal. The 1.8 manual has a combined figure of 6.6L/100km/h; the auto is good for 7.1. The 2.0 manual and auto versions return 7.4. And it’s possible to get down around those figures in the real world.
The Koreans have certainly lifted their game and they now unreservedly challenge the Japanese competition in Australia’s biggest segment.
Difficult though it might be to believe, 2013 is not just about the VF Commodore for Holden.
As crucial as the big new rear-driver is to the General’s manufacturing future here, it’s the mid-life update of its locally built Cruze small car that looms every bit as large.
Last year the Cruze hatch and sedan came within a whisker of out-selling the sedan and wagon variants of its burly big brother, and it did so in a growing category that now represents just over 20 percent of all new-car sales.
Which is precisely why any changes – even a mid-life update with a notable dearth of styling enhancement – is big news.
The new Cruze may look little different to the old, but Holden has invested wisely in performance and dynamic upgrades that include a new turbo petrol engine, an upgraded six-speed auto for petrol variants, and extensive refinements to the dynamics of every model.
The big news beneath the bonnet is that new 132kW/230Nm 1.6-litre DOHC 16-valve turbo four, which joins the range at the top of the tree as the performance engine in the sporty SRi and SRi-V variants. Thankfully, it adds some much needed starch to the backbone of the luxury-sports models.
The new engine is impressively smooth, with a nice linear power delivery, but needs a few revs aboard to give its best. It spins sweetly to its 5500rpm power peak and beyond but could do with a bit more muscle in the mid-range for more assertive overtaking.
The old 1.4-litre petrol turbo continues on as an option, as does the 1.8-litre atmo four-cylinder, with all three petrol engines available with a new Gen 2 six-speed automatic.
The new auto has been dosing on the Omega 3 fish oil, offering superior adaptive shift logic to deliver a more intuitive and enjoyable driving experience.
Local calibration sees it behaving far more rationally than the fussy Gen 1, which carries on behind the unchanged diesel-powered Cruze variants.
A raft of locally developed and Australian-specific revisions to the Cruze’s underpinnings have resulted in significant improvements to ride, handling and even NVH. Here, Holden’s decision to move to two suspension tunes rather than a single spec across all models has clearly paid dividends.
Specific tuning of the struts and dampers, plus the addition of a stiffer rear torsion beam and a slightly lowered suspension, has sharpened the reactions of the SRi and SRi-V, making them a more sporting drive.
Meanwhile, the base Equipe and CDX models now ride on a more comfort-oriented setting that’s softer yet still delivers superior dynamics.
Grip levels across the range are impressive, thanks partly to new right-hand-drive-oriented Bridgestones, developed locally and specifically for the Cruze.
Inside, all models now feature Holden’s MyLink infotainment system with new seven-inch touchscreen, and there’s a strong value for money story, with price cuts of between $2000 and $3500, accompanied by equipment upgrades of between $1250-$1600.
The 18-month local-development program has delivered a much-improved Cruze that has jettisoned its dull driving dynamics in favour of a more engaging personality – one that now speaks with a distinctly Aussie accent.
The people have spoken. Audi Australia has bowed to demand and given the S8 a ticket to Australia in the first quarter of 2014.
It’s hard to picture the type of consumer clamouring for Audi’s sporting luxury flagship, because muscled-up mega-sedans have a reputation for being vicious but unwieldy.
But the A8 has been getting the ‘S’ treatment since 1996, and each iteration does drive better than the last.
The new S8 was launched in Europe mid-2012, but Audi Oz will hold its introduction to coincide with the A8 update due mid next year.
Like the old S8, this one is all-aluminium, so the body has no significant weight-reduction story to tell. The engine does, however.
The new-gen twin-turbo V8 is 50kg lighter than the old atmo 5.2-litre V10. Power is up 51kW, but the biggest kick to real-world performance is the torque.
Where the V10 provided 540Nm from 3500rpm, the V8 delivers 650Nm from 1700 through to 5500rpm. Add to this a smoother, faster, new ZF eight-speed automatic and you’ve got the reasons why the new S8 is nearly a second quicker 0-100km/h (4.2sec).
That’s properly rapid for such a big car.
Low-rpm acceleration is deceitful; it doesn’t feel hurried yet definitely is. The V8 obviously hits harder closer to its 5800rpm power peak. But why ruffle its feathers?
The S8 is a car that works brilliantly at anything up to eight-tenths. Beyond that, well, the laws of physics cannot be broken.
The S8’s new electric steering is light and quick off-centre, but shudders when the Audi is hustled through rough corners.
The S8 does turn with more verve, and has good lateral grip, but these are both relative terms.
The S8’s better steering and dynamically adjustable air-suspension mean it would be quicker point-to-point even with the old V10. But it’s challenging to exploit its enhanced dynamics and thunderous engine because there’s no tactile feedback coming from the front end.
The S8 drives as big as it looks, it does not shrink around you. And the brakes feel every kilogram, although they refused to fade during our mountain-hopping expedition.
Winding roads are not the S8’s forte. It’s much better blasting along an autobahn at 200km/h-plus, the kays disappearing under its quiet and opulent cabin.
The seats are sublime, the ambience refined and the B&O audio system awesome.
Rear legroom is good but not as generous as the S8’s overall length suggests. I’d argue Aussie sedans, which are shorter, have more room.
In Europe the S8’s combination of prodigious speed and luxury makes sense, but not so much in Australia. Here, the S6, which has the same engine (albeit in a less-potent 309kW tune), is a better sports sedan for enthusiasts.
But if luxury combined with effortless wafting is your thing, try the A8 V8 turbo-diesel, which has more kit and 800Nm.
The company that claims to make Holden vehicles special has lived up to its promise with the introduction of its latest Gen-F line-up.
HSV’s take on the new VF Commodore delivers a rare blend of performance, refinement and dynamic response.
All the aggressive lightweighting benefits of the VF program have carried over to the HSV range, with a hefty 68kg stripped from the Clubsport, and an average 40 kegs trimmed from other models.
The entry-level ClubSport sedan and Maloo ute continue with a 317kW/550Nm version of the 6.2-litre Gen 4, LS3 V8 engine, while a 325kW/550Nm evolution of the same unit sits under the bonnet of the Clubsport R8 sedan, R8 Tourer wagon and R8 Maloo. Transmission choice is between six-speed manual and six-speed auto (sequential shift, but no paddles).
New for Gen-F is a 340kW/570Nm ‘SV Pack’ version of the same powerplant; optional on R8 variants, and now standard issue for the premium Senator Signature, and long-wheelbase Grange.
Top of the HSV performance pyramid is the GTS, now powered by a 430kW/730Nm, twin-rotor (Eaton) supercharged (LSA) version of the 6.2-litre Gen 4 V8, plucked from the Chevy Camaro ZL1.
But we’re not allowed to write about this fire-breathing flagship for the next two months (even though we’ve driven it in pre-production form) because, as a senior HSV insider told us, Holden pulled rank and demanded a delay of the formal GTS release to give the launch of its VF Commodore some publicity breathing space.
What we can say is these Gen-F HSVs ride beautifully, due to a combination of newly adopted Continental ContiSportContact 5P rubber (255/35 R20 f/275/35 R20 r), linear rate springs that allow damper valving to be more finely tuned, and reduced unsprung mass in the shape of forged alloy wheels and lightweight forged alloy brake calipers (produced by AP Racing, specifically for HSV). And in premium variants (GTS, Senator Signature and Grange) BWI’s latest twin-coil version of Magnetic Ride Control (MRC) should really be dubbed Magic Ride Control, because its ability to turn ordinary highway surfaces into velvety smooth running feels like a smoke and mirrors trick.
The SV Pack came out of work done on the GTS’s supercharged engine, with the bi-modal airbox and ‘zip tube’ (clean air connection between the throttle body and air box) adapted from the LS3 V8 used in the Chevy Camaro. The pack also incorporates a unique set of headers on the exhaust side, as well as the forged alloy rims (optional on ClubSport and Maloo).
Having driven all engine and transmission variants on road and track we can say the Gen-F is more refined, although at full noise the engine still sounds like a snarling V8 Supercar (just as it should), the electrically-assisted steering is beautifully weighted and linear in its response, the new Conti tyres are great in terms of comfort, noise and grip, and braking power remains outstanding.
A more mature exterior design does away with the fussy gills and vents dotted around previous-gen E3 HSVs, leveraging Holden’s neater VF, to make the car appear appreciably smaller and cleaner. And if the bees-to-honey reaction of ‘the boys’ heading towards their blinged but aging Audi A6 outside the bakery at Pakenham on our first drive is any indication, Gen-F is also a more serious contender in terms of attracting Euro performance prospects.
To support that aspiration, the pricing pencil has been sharpened, with the base ClubSport manual starting at $60,990 ($4K) less than its E3 predecssor, with all the electronic gizmos the VF brings included. Dollars run up through R8, Senator Signature and Grange to $92,990 for the full-house GTS. But more on that very special vehicle later.
Will anyone lament the loss of the V8 from the engine menu in Mercedes-Benz’s standard E-Class line-up for Australia when a tasty V6 has been added?
Probably not.
The twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre of the new E400 means that Mercedes at last has a six to rival those of Audi and BMW.
Rival? Actually, with 245kW and 480Nm, it beats the maximums of the same-size engines in the A6 3.0 TFSI and 535i. Smoothly potent and easy on the ear, it’s everything it needs to be.
Mercedes’ twin-turbo 4.7-litre V8 continues in production after the E-Class’s mid-life 2013 makeover. But Mercedes-Benz Australia, seeing steadily declining demand for the V8, and wanting to simplify its E-Class offering, has decided to delete the E500 from its range.
From now, the only way to get a V8 in an E-Class in Australia will be to choose the E63 AMG.
When it launched in 2009, the W212 E-Class featured a clumsy attempt to evoke the memory of a long-gone ancestor, the 1953 W120 ‘Ponton’ Mercedes, with an old-fashioned bulge around its rear wheelarches.
With this facelift, the rounded retro-style treatment of the car’s rear quarter is banished. The effect is to make the E-Class look more cohesive and coherent.
Retro was never the right look for the E-Class, now more than ever. Nearly all the advanced safety tech developed by Merc for the forthcoming S-Class under the ‘Intelligent Drive’ label is being made available in the updated E-Class.
As in the forthcoming S-Class, an forward-facing stereo video camera is a key to the most notable advances in the new E-Class’s amazing level of driver support. It can, for instance, recognise the danger of collision with another vehicle approaching too fast on a sidestreet, and react.
The camera also enables a new pedestrian-recognition system and active lane-keeping assistance feature. Driving the new E-Class with everything activated can provide a brief foretaste of what driving an autonomous car would be like.
If there are clear road markings for the Distronic Plus active cruise control’s Steering Assist system to see, the E-Class will steer itself around gentle curves without a hand on the wheel or foot on a pedal. But the car soon delivers a warning to put your hands back where they belong.
Ignore it and Steering Assist will be disengaged.
While Mercedes-Benz Australia is dropping the V8, it is adding the E300 hybrid. Partly, it’s said, because of Wheels’ positive reaction to the diesel-electric at its European launch early last year.
The hybrid will slot into the line-up between the E250 CDI (which uses the same 150kW 2.1-litre turbo- diesel four) and the 185kW E350 CDI V6 turbo-diesel. The 125kW E220 CDI will remain the entry point to the model’s compression-ignition line-up.
The facelift brings new, turbocharged, direct-injection, stratified-charge 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engines in place of the old 1.8-litres. The 135kW E200 and 155kW E250 are more efficient than the smaller engines they replace.
As if killing the E500 wasn’t enough, the E400 V6 will also effectively replace the naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 E350 in Australia.
All except the E400 and E63 AMG models are scheduled for Australian launch in June. “Aggressive” prices are promised by company spokesman David McCarthy.
Nothing of the E-Class’s comfy-riding, sweet-driving nature has been lost with this facelift.
It’s better looking and more technically advanced than ever, and there are new drivetrain choices more in tune with the times than the V8 of the E500. As mid-cycle updates go, this one’s a goodie.
