It’s been fun punting the new Mercedes A Class across mountain roads in Slovenia this week – and ‘fun to drive’ is a major part of the brief for this sleek new Golf rival from the Three Pointed Star. Where the old A Class was tall and a bit ‘people-movery’, the new one is all modern style and sporty low stance. Premium small cars will become increasingly popular over the next few years and Merc’s latest entrant to the category is an appealing one.
When it goes on sale in Australia next March, expect the base A180 petrol to start at $36,000. Above that will be two A200s – a petrol and a diesel – and an A250 Sport for about $50,000, complete with a two-litre turbocharged four developing 155kW plus an 11kW overboost at full throttle. All Aussie cars will be fitted with Merc’s 7-speed dual-clutch auto transmission and plenty of standard equipment. If a VW Golf has the same kit, then the price of the A Class will match it.
One of the car’s best features is its dash and interior. The cockpit is beautifully designed, and dominated in the upper-spec models by a bolted-on screen which links with an iPhone to give internet search functionality, along with neat audio organisation and a myriad other funtions. Merc seems to be about five years ahead of the competition in this area.
I spent most time in an A250 with sport suspension. This German-registered car wasn’t precisely matched to an Aussie spec, but it gave me a good idea. The basics are right on first impressions – strong little engine, fast-acting gearbox, slick, perfectly-weighted electric steering and plenty of balance and body control. It’s blighted by a bit too much wind noise and a lack of boot space, but there isn’t much else to fault, assuming you like the looks.
We’ve seen ‘Will it blend?’ and now thanks to our colleagues at UK motoring mag Autocar comes ‘Will it drift?’ — the first instalment of which features a 12.5kW electric-powered Renault Twizy.
The Twizy — with its futuristic 1+1 golf-kart looks and planet-saving lithium-ion powertrain — is geared more towards those looking for a cheap and practical city car than the sideways-loving drift crowd.
However, motoring scribe Steve Sutcliffe was determined to get the Twizy off-kilter, and with a little help from a slippery surface and some typical English weather he managed, quite convincingly, to coax the Renault into a controlled slide.
To some this came as no surprise. The Twizy — despite its woefully weedy engine output — features a mid-engine, rear-drive layout (just like a Ferrari) and has a chassis designed by Renault’s performance division, Renaultsport.
The Twizy was released in France and the UK earlier this year. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that the Twizy will find its way on to Australian shores any time soon though due to its legal status as a quadricycle — which the Australian government doesn’t allow on public roads.
Small is beautiful for Skoda. Well everything but small sales, which is why it has just padded out its Fabia mini-car range with a bunch of new models including the RS hot-hatch and wagon.
Fabia was launched here as a five-door late in 2011 with the 77 TSI turbo-petrol engine and a five-speed manual transmission for $18,990, but now gains the $2300 option of seven-speed DSG, and the $2000 option of a wagon body.
The RS, powered by VW Group’s 132kW 1.4-litre Twincharger petrol-turbo engine mated standard to the seven-speed DSG, is priced at $27,990 for the five-door and $29,990 for the wagon.
The hatch is the same price as the three-door version of its non-identical technical twin, the Polo GTI, and undercuts the five-door VeeDub by $1000.
Unsurprisingly the Fabia RS – be it hatch or wagon – drives a lot like the Poli GTI, offering solid power over a wide range, solid handling, solid steering and, erm, a solid ride – but not too uncomfortable really considering the lowered sports suspension and 40 aspect tyres.
And the Fabia 77 TSI? Well it drives a lot like a Polo 77 TSI Comfortline. The word is… you guessed it… solid (but also more compliant and quieter than RS).
For something slightly different, Skoda also reintroduced the Roomster to Australia this week, refurbished with a new nose, the 77 TSI engine and a price thousands of dollars cheaper than the old model at $22,490.
It’s lost none of the charm and functionality that made it a surprise contender at Wheels COTY back in 2007, just a pity that a diesel-DSG combination isn’t available, as that would make the most sense for this efficient little load lugger.
Having dominated the green driver market, Toyota looks set to take over another untapped customer base with its newest concept: young children.
The Japanese manufacturer has just unveiled the Camatte concept at the Tokyo International Toy Show, but the diminutive three-seater is no toy — it’s a fully functioning road car which Toyota says is designed to “introduce children to the fun of driving, customising and owning a car”.
On the outside the Camatte is similar in size to the company’s current small car, the iQ, measuring just 2.7m long by 1.2m tall. Looks resemble something of a cross between a smart car and an old Citroen 2CV and the mantra here is definitely function over form; the old-school round headlights, skinny wheels and bicycle tyre guards don’t make the Camatte the prettiest car to look at.
You can however modify the look and colour of the exterior if you get sick of it (as kids may be inclined to) with the detachable body panels, lights and wheels.
The interior is what sets the Camatte apart though, with the driving position and adjustable pedals designed to allow young kids to experience the joy of driving. The cockpit is set up so that a child can sit in the front while a parent sits in the rear but is still able to control the steering, braking and acceleration in a similar manner to that of a tandem bicycle.
We’re not sure how Toyota intends to get around the obvious illegalities here — which is why the Camatte will probably stay in concept mode for a while — but this is certainly a positive move in educating young drivers before they hit the road on their own.
Man’s fascination with finding new ways to travel on the open ocean never ceases to end. Lately we’ve had amphibious cars, flying hovercrafts and water-powered jetpacks. Now the latest insane contraption to join this mix is the Jetovator — a water-propelled, wheel-less motorbike.
And jeez it looks like fun.
The Jetovator operates by sucking water through a 15m hose which then propels the rider onwards and upwards at speeds of up to 40km/h and distances of 9m. Other party tricks include the ability to barrel-roll, back flip and dive 3m underwater.
While it looks deadly, Jetovator says its product is easy to operate and allows “first time riders to fly like professional pilots”.
Jetovator will sell you the starter kit for around $9,000 which includes the motorcycle-frame body, necessary plumbing connections and the 15m hose pump. However the Jetovator cannot operate under its own power, so you’ll need a mate to follow you around on a jet-ski to provide juice via a power cable (suffice to say this isn’t included).
A study has found that women over the age of 50 have the most environmentally friendly driving habits, while younger drivers have some improving to do.
The study by AAMI insurance surveyed a cross section of more than 3,000 Australian drivers and ranked the environmental impact of their driving behaviours with a “green score”. Behavioural factors taken into account included whether the drivers carpooled, if they drove smoothly, if they checked their tyres and how often they used their car’s air conditioning.
Women over 50 had the highest scores with a 4.5 out of 10 green score — so there’s still room for everyone to improve. These drivers were found to be more likely to regularly service their cars — a major factor in reducing a vehicle’s environmental impact.
Females aged 25–49 were found to have the greatest impact on the environment as they are least likely to carpool or use public transport.
Taking only age into account shows that the 18–24 group has the greatest environmental impact as they are the least likely to service their cars regularly and often run on sub-standard tyres, factors that can dramatically increase fuel consumption.
NSW and Tasmania were found to be the greenest states — each achieving a green score of 4.2 — while Victoria, ACT and the Northern Territory all scored lowest with 3.9.
The study was conducted as part of World Environment Day which took place last week.
“World Environment Day is the perfect opportunity for Australian drivers to take a look at the way they use their cars and the environmental consequences of the way they drive,” said AAMI’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Reuben Aitchison.
“AAMI’s research shows that a majority of Australians are environmentally aware and are taking steps to limit their impact on the environment, but clearly some are doing more than others.”
Oh behaaave! The iconic Jaguar E-Type driven by Austin Powers in The Spy Who Shagged Me is up for sale.
The infamously nicknamed “Shaguar” is a 1970 Series 2 E-Type complete with Union Jack paintjob both inside and out, and was one of only two cars used in the cult hit film.
The car was fully restored before filming began in 1999 and was driven just over 10,000km during production. Most of its mileage was racked-up during promotional work in the US, which is also why the steering wheel is on the left.
The Jag’s 4.2-litre inline six-cylinder engine originally put out 195kW and went from 0-100km/h in 6.3 seconds, but with age comes fatigue, so expect the 42-year-old’s performance to be more like that of a Toyota Camry nowadays.
The E-Type is described as being in “good condition” by the owner and also comes with a Belgian registration (handy!) and a certificate of authenticity from the film company.
The Belgian car collector is reportedly selling it because, just like Austin himself experienced, too many ladies were drawn to the car — something that didn’t sit well with his wife.
The Shaguar is currently listed with Dutch specialists ER Classic Cars for a smashing $112,000. Maybe Prince Charles should buy it as a gift for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, what do you reckon?
HYPE can crush a car as quickly as it creates it. But even the extreme level of anticipation ahead of the launch of Toyota’s 86 couldn’t overshadow this driver’s car revelation. In fact, in the context of the bargain $29,990 price for the base GT manual, the 86 is an even more impressive package than we were expecting.
The 86 is a bit like a classic car, with the benefit of contemporary car design but none of the affectations or unnecessary equipment: front-mid-engine, rear-drive, slick six-speed manual ’box, normal handbrake, no stop-start, wrapped in a strong two-door body, with seven airbags and excellent ergonomics inside.
The Toyota coupe rides, handles and sits on the road with a level of maturity far beyond that $30K pricetag. Its steering is millimetrically precise, friction free, and feel rich. The chassis’ balance is sublime, its angle of attack tightened by a lifted throttle, or a wide-open one. Its unflappable balance, composure and body control make you want to spend all day seeking out corners to throw it into. It’s as much fun to drive neatly and quickly as it is slowly and sideways.
Speaking of sideways, we enthusiasts have asked car makers for smaller wheels and tyres for years. Forget style – or at least, don’t make the top priority – and focus on the driving. Toyota’s done just that. The base 86 GT wears a set of 205/55R16s that make the adjustability (and drift-ability) of the chassis so much easier to tap into than if it were wearing ultra-high-performance 18s.
The 2.0-litre flat-four has some Subaru throb at low revs – when pulling and on the overrun. From 5500rpm to 7500rpm it sheds its boxer character. The note smooths out, the delivery becomes more urgent, and the intake note deeper. There’s enough performance on tap to exploit the chassis; the 86 feels like it’ll do 0-100km/h in 7s and 0-400m in 15s. A sonorous engine note is the only ingredient missing (and, okay, we’re yet to meet an extra low-rev Newton-metre we didn’t like). However, at the price – and, realistically, even for plenty more money – a lack of ultimate sonic satisfaction is no deal breaker.
The $35,490 GT-S manual gets some nice extra equipment such as sat-nav, a colour screen, and leather trim, as well as 17-inch alloys and bigger brakes, but also a start button that’s no more effective than twisting a key. In short, the GT-S is well worth the extra cash, but the basic manual GT has everything you really need, including a Torsen LSD and body-hugging cloth seats.
The amount of fun on offer at such a tempting price meant I think almost every motoring journalist present left the 86’s Aussie launch thinking about buying one, me included. At least I didn’t have to hand ‘my’ 86 back at the end of the day.
Right now, its hard-worked brakes and hot exhaust tink and ping in the Wheels garage. We’re not trying to over-hype it, but the 86 awaits meeting its rivals next week in what will probably be the most exciting comparo of 2012. Stay tuned.
Mercedes’ flagship car — the SLS AMG — is soon to be dead. But don’t think for a second that the car boffins of Stuttgart would leave us without a fire-breathing, tyre-shredding Ferrari and Lamborghini rival to fawn over — because here is its replacement: the SLS AMG GT.
And the newcomer is more than just a pair of extra letters.
Power from the Merc’s behemoth 6.2-litre V8 is now up an extra 15kW to 435kW. Combine this with the upgraded seven-speed double-clutch gearbox, which has been tuned for quicker shifts, and you can now get to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds. Its top speed has also been increased to 320km/h, while fuel consumption sees a slight drop of one-tenth down to 13.2L/100km.
The outgoing model’s “Comfort” mode has also been dropped in favour of “Sport Plus”, indicating that Mercedes are very much pushing for the SLS AMG GT to be a pure-bred racer.
There’s also the option of an “AMG Designo Executive Style” package if you’re so inclined — which you may as well be if you’re willing to fork out the money the SLS AMG GT is likely to cost. It includes diamond-patterned leather seats, a leather dashboard, Alcantara roof lining and porcelain-coloured, leather-edged floor mats.
Exterior styling has been largely left alone in favour of these mechanical tweaks, with those familiar upwards-opening Gullwing doors still available to let the passing plebeians know who’s boss. There’s also a roadster version if you don’t want quite that much attention drawn to yourself.
Sadly the SLS AMG GT is not destined for Australian shores. But don’t despair; word on the street is that an even more powerful model, likely to be called the SLS AMG Black Series, will arrive here sometime in 2013. Pricing should be somewhere around $500,000. Brace yourselves!
If you’re not having enough trouble with young children being sick in the back of your car then perhaps the new Mercedes GL63 AMG is what you need.
The new seven-seat SUV from the German manufacturer will do 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds, making for some blistering school-run times. To put this into perspective, it is faster than Ferrari’s flagship cars were less than 10 years ago.
This unbelievable achievement of performance is mainly thanks to Mercedes dropping in its patented 5.5-litre twin turbo V8 engine, which puts out 410kW and 760Nm of torque.
All that power is sent to each of the four wheels via a seven-speed automatic gearbox, with the electronic fun police halting things when you reach 250km/h.
The power doesn’t come cheap either. Even with a start-stop system fuel economy is still rated at 12.3L/100km.
Ride comfort does sound promising though. The GL63 will feature what Mercedes is calling its Active Curve System roll stabilisation and Ride Control sports suspension which include technologies such as air suspension, active damping and automatic levelling.
The interior looks like a pretty nice place to be too, with white-stitched black leather, massaging seats, three-zone climate control, a Bang and Olufsen surround sound stereo system and 360-degree camera among the creature comforts you can enjoy.
As far as we can tell the GL63’s scorching performance will make it the fastest seven-seater on the market when it goes on sale in Europe later this year, with an Australian release expected sometime in 2013.
