Keep your eyes open on an industry pool day at the Nurburgring and you’ll see Katharina.

You probably won’t hear her coming as she’s not the shouty type, but an encounter is not an experience you’ll forget in a hurry.

She’s rapid. For Katharina is the project title of BMW’s little 50th birthday present to the M Division and it packs a solid megawatt. That’s a cool 1000kW, or 1321hp. Koenigsegg Agera RS power, if you prefer, or more than a modern F1 car, all wrapped up in the body of an M2 CS.

The iM2 (rendered above), as it’s dubbed within the halls at Garching-Hochbruck, is serious business.

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Powered by four electric motors and boasting radical four-wheel torque vectoring, the iM2 is, for the time being at least, based on the outgoing F87 M2 body, ahead of the introduction of the rear-drive G24 2 Series in 2022.

There’s no official word on whether this vehicle will even make production or whether it will remain one of a long list of M-car one-offs that the company tends to keep to itself. It’s been reported that a British powertrain specialist that is involved in the development of the Katharina project is expecting that a limited production run is a possibility, fitted with ultra-lightweight body panels, wheels and glazing.

The iM2 is said to be able to lap the Nordschleife in less than seven minutes, which puts it in extremely senior territory. It’ll need to be significantly quicker than the heavier and markedly less powerful Porsche Taycan Turbo S if M Division’s aim of demonstrating that tailpipe emissions-free performance and agile handling can be incorporated in a compelling package for demanding drivers.

There’s word of a 0-100km/h time somewhere between 2.0 and 2.5 seconds, but standing start acceleration fatigue has already set in with many EV potential buyers.

There needs to be additional strings to the bow.

That will come as the technical know-how from the iM2 project trickles down into the forthcoming i4M production car, which looks set to pack a 120kWh battery and 447kW, and is pencilled in to debut sometime during 2023.

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The iM2 was foreshadowed in an interview with BMW M’s CEO Markus Flasch last year. When it comes to hybridised and electrified drivetrains, Flasch has a very simple measure of what he wants those vehicles to be.

“Success has to be better than the predecessor’s character. We won’t mess around or compromise the distinct character that our M cars have today,” he says.

“An electrified car, whether it’s plug in the wall, battery electric, has to take it up with the predecessor, and I know that there are physical limits, but within physical limits of working dimensions, we are going to make it happen.”

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In recent years we’ve seen some M cars taper off the amount of power they develop. In the five years between 2010 and 2015, the BMW M5 saw its power increase by over 18 per cent. The next five years saw peak power tick up by 4 per cent. As the iM2 so clearly demonstrates, Flasch doesn’t recognise any workable ceiling or gentleman’s agreement to limit the power of M cars.

“Power is nothing without control, right? And if there isn’t something with too much power it’s just a question of how you tune in and hone into a car, and how you make it accessible,” he explains.

“You look 10, 15 years back and if you imagined 625 horsepower in a saloon car, you’d probably be scared. Now, I can give an M5 this 625 horsepower and only drive to my mum, in winter, and she’d still be okay. It’s all just a question of how you incorporate it into a package that makes it accessible for everyone, and this is what M has always been brilliant in. Don’t expect a power limit.”

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Six iM2 Tech Facts You Need To Know

40 SECONDS That’s how much quicker the iM2 is reputed to be around the ‘Ring than the monster M8 Competition

DOUBLE IT A 530kW 5 Series Electric prototype debuted at the NextGen event in Munich in 2019. Two years later, power has escalated crazily

TOTALLY TUBULAR The iM2 will feature hollow-spoked ultra-lightweight alloy wheels (not pictured here), cutting unsprung weight to deliver the promised agility

SPIN TO WIN Sources report that the iM2 can spin up its rear tyres at more than 120km/h even on bone-dry bitumen. You can replicate this ability far more cheaply by choosing cheap tyres sorted by wear rating

THERE’S MORE… The iM2 isn’t the only surprise BMW’s wheeling out for the M Division’s 50th. If Nurburgring spies are correct, there’s also likely to be an M4 CSL, which could arrive in July of 2022

Baby Driver

BMW has some form when it comes to one-off pocket hot rods as little gifts to itself. Back in 1996, it built the E36 M3 Compact, which would have been comfortably the quickest production hot hatch in the world at the time, had it ever entered production.

Instead, BMW teased us with images of the 1300kg 240kW hatch, built to commemorate the 50th birthday of German automotive magazine Auto Motor und Sport. The guts of the E36 M3 Compact would later be resurrected in the form of the Z3 M Coupe, the one-off E36 Compact these days residing at BMW Group Classic.

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Volvo Australia is recalling examples of its 2016-2020 XC90 Excellence model variants over an issue with the rear seat control display.

The problem is said to affect just 11 cars sold between July 1, 2017 and August 31, 2020.

According to Product Safety Australia, if there is liquid, even as much as a drop, on the rear seat control display, the system may perceive this as a constant touch.

If this occurs when the front passenger seat control is selected, the front passenger seat may be moved forward or backwards until it reaches its end position which could injure vehicle occupants.

A list of VINs for affected vehicles is available here.

Volvo Australia has said it will contact affected owners in writing to request they make an appointment to have the vehicle repaired, free of charge.

To find a local dealer, visit: www.volvocars.com/au/find-a-dealer or contact the Volvo Customer Relations team on 1300 787 802.

Toyota Australia is recalling almost 8000 examples of its 2019-2021 C-HR model SUV over a fuel pump issue which could cause a fire.

The problem is said to affect 7671 NGX10 and NGX50 cars sold between December 2019 and May this year.

According to Product Safety Australia, the fault lies with the internal components of the fuel pump which may wear and fracture the welded area, and in turn this could lead to a leak in the engine compartment and cause a fire.

Toyota has said it will be contacting affected owners in writing, requesting they make an appointment at their preferred Toyota dealer for inspection and, if required, fuel pump replacement, free of charge.

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A list of VINs for affected vehicles is available here.

Parts are expected to be available between the end of June and the middle of July.

To find a local dealer, visit: https://www.toyota.com.au/find-a-dealer

For further information, consumers should contact the Toyota Recall Assist helpline on 1800 987 366 (Monday to Friday, 8am – 6pm AEST).

The issue is just the latest in a series of fuel-pump related problems for Toyota, with another 7600 C-HRs being recalled last month, and more than 70,000 models affected across the Japanese marque’s range late last year.

A spokesman for Toyota Australia said: “The fuel pump recall announced by Toyota in May 2021 is unrelated to the recall from December 2020 as it concerns different types of fuel pumps. “The December recall was an expansion of vehicles needing to be recalled for the same issue in March and October of 2020. “Both these matters have been investigated by Toyota globally. As always, we will continue to monitor and investigate any field reports relating to our vehicle, with the highest focus on customer safety.”

UPDATE: We may soon bear witness to the end of an era, with the iconic Prince Leonard having left this realm in 2019, and the unrecognised micro-nation of Hutt River Province now on the market.

In remembrance of this wonderful piece of Australian culture and history, we hope you’ll enjoy another read – or perhaps your first – of our story below.

Bentley Bentayga: Fit for a prince

October 2016

What is it with royalty? They take their pants off to sit on the throne, same as the rest of us, and yet some people treat them as if their excrement doesn’t stink.

Australia is not a republic, yet, but as a deeply egalitarian bunch, Aussies don’t buy into the high farce of being high-born, which explains why our locally bred royal family are such down-to-earth types, with firm, land-working handshakes.

They’re not exactly publicity-seeking, toe-sucking, in-fighting, pseudo-celebrity royals, either – they’re not even on Facebook – which is why you may not have even heard of the Principality of Hutt River, population “23-ish”, which sits on a piece of land the size of Hong Kong in a remote corner of Western Australia that you possibly didn’t notice has been hived off the rest of your country since 1970.

You’ll also, no doubt, be quite surprised to hear that Prince Leonard, the 91-year-old head of state for this far-out principality, has long travelled the world, including an official visit to The Vatican, on a Hutt River Passport (the Vatican was “alright, I guess, just something to do”). And all of his subjects have the right to do the same – not just his extended family of 57, but the 13,000 people worldwide who have applied and been approved.

People tend to assume the whole thing is an elaborate scheme to fleece tourists, or avoid tax, but the truth is more a tale of one man’s irascible reaction to a clash with bureaucracy.

When a fight over wheat quotas on his land spiralled to the point where the government wanted to reclaim his farm, the once plain old Len Casley – a self-taught student of the law who wields it like a mace – found a way to put it beyond their reach. He declared it an independent sovereign state and effectively removed it from Australia.

“I’ve been fighting a series of skirmishes with the government ever since. The pressure is there and it never goes away, but I can take the pressure because I’ve got the Commonwealth under pressure, see,” Prince Leonard tells me, grinning conspiratorially.

The Principality resembles the billionaires’ playground of Monaco, in structural and legal terms if not physically. It has its own coat of arms, an annual honours list, a national anthem (sung by the late Jon English), its own money and stamps, and a post office to send them from; despite sitting on familiar dusty red ground, a sign offers a price list for “postage to Australia”.

What it most vitally doesn’t have, aside from official recognition of its existence from the recalcitrant Australian government, is an official vehicle, which is where Wheels comes in.

Prince Leonard did previously deign to visit our country occasionally in a 1970 Rolls-Royce – “a gift from one of my subjects” – with his royal regalia slapped on its sides in the form of giant, bespoke fridge magnets. But the Roller was sold a couple of years back, with the proceeds poured into a rather unique Sacred Educational Shrine to his dearly departed wife, Princess Shirley, so we thought he might be in the market for a shiny new conveyance. Something regal yet rugged enough for his environment. Enter the Sultan of Sand; Bentley’s new Bentayga.

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BENTLEY has a relationship with our other monarch, of course, Queen Elizabeth II, who recently sent Prince Leonard a letter – which he had framed and declares as one of his most prized possessions – congratulating him on the 46th anniversary of his country’s secession from her sovereign colonial outpost. Honestly, we’re not making this up.

It makes perfect sense, then, to collect a car in Perth – where moneyed-up mining types have already snapped up a few of the enticingly priced First Edition Bentayga W12s at $678,831 (plus options, which could easily bump it to $1m) – and drive it some 595km north to the Principality to see if it’s an off-roader worthy of an Australian royal blessing.

We had hoped the Bentley would be an English green, or a royal-blood blue, but sadly our Bentayga was of deepest black, a non-colour that made it look like a cross between a giant London cab and a dead fish. There’s just something about the huge, disc-like headlights that give it that glassy-eyed look you see on a permanently stunned mullet, which only accentuates the fact that the whole front end is vast, bluff and bland.

From side-on, things aren’t a lot better, with touches of Lexus and doors so big they wouldn’t look out of place on Windsor Castle, and the rear is equally massive and brutish.

Designing a Bentley this big and tall must have been a challenge unlike anything the great British/German company had ever attempted. Sadly, though, any sense of the grace and elegance they typically instill in their continent-crushing cars is missing here.

Fortunately, when you’re inside the Bentayga you don’t have to see the exterior, and you can luxuriate in a cabin fit for a prince. Everything you touch, from the key to the shift paddles and the door trims, feels rich and rock-solid, and all that leather and wood gives off the sort of luxury scent you get when you accidentally find yourself in a high-end jewellery store.

The thrones are so plush that a journalist who could never afford a car like this would seriously consider stealing them for use in his living room. Sitting in the back, as many owners will, is an experience not far off private-jet travel, with two individual couches offering all the comforts and personalisation of the front two.

A massage function that lurks within the seat backs is nothing short of delectable, with varied settings, all of which will have you making the kind of noises your passenger will find alarming (yours as part of a plush 18-way adjustable seating package that costs a mere $21,657).

From the driver’s seat, you stare down upon the plebs and yet the sound-proofing is so thick and opulent that you can’t hear them living their pathetic little lives in their piddling, noisy little cars.

This is the kind of experience one expects from a car that offers a not-very-base driveaway price of $461,784.

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AS FAR as actually driving the Bentayga goes, it’s the sort of experience you might expect to find on the options list. While sitting in the back will be hugely popular in the Arab Emirates and China, where this PUV (Posh Utility Vehicle) will do a lot of its business, even the chauffeurs don’t have to engage much with the dirty business of actually piloting the thing.

The effusive Bentley bloke who introduced us to the car insisted that we use the Active Lane Assist, which allows you to merely rest your hands on the wheel and pretend you’re driving, at speeds over 60km/h (or to take them off altogether for up to 10 seconds, purely to impress your friends). Mate that with radar cruise control and a stroll along the unchallenging highway that rolls up the coast from Perth is a doddle.

Personally, though, these auto-steering systems still feel slightly snatchy, with a tendency to nibble at corners rather than flow through them.

Similarly, the infra-red night-vision system seems a great idea, particularly in a stretch of country where multitudes of kangaroos and emus are joined by road-hogging wild pigs, but in practice our screen was shaky at speed and you only tend to look at it for confirmation once you’ve already spotted a bouncing hazard.

Choose to drive yourself the old-fashioned way and the experience is best described as effortless, with so little driver input required that the big bus feels more like a vast flying Persian rug.

There is fun to be had, of course, as you’d expect from a car with a 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12 boasting 447kW, an earth-shaking 900Nm of torque and a top speed above 300km/h.

Put your foot down and the nose rears amusingly, then there’s a tiny pause while the laws of gravity look at you askance and wonder what you think you’re up to, and then you’re off in a thunderous, thumping rush. You can – and will, repeatedly – do zero to 100km/h in 4.1sec, because it’s hilarious.

Attempt this kind of thing on dirt, as we did after we crossed the border into the Principality, where all the roads are reddest gravel and, effectively, speed-limit free, and the results are almost comedic as the car’s computers attempt to get all that power to the slippery ground. Picture a cheetah trying to run on ice.

Hutt River has had a police force in the past, and an army and a navy (“they were mainly ceremonial”, Prince Leonard tells me, largely unnecessarily considering the Principality is landlocked), but they’re not much in evidence now. It also has a consulate, in Las Vegas, where a fleet of tanks are kept for its protection, but that’s another crazy story.

We find Prince Leonard in the midst of a typical work day, regaling open-mouthed tourists with the various stories of his life. Slightly too old to travel these days, he puts in 364 days a year entertaining visitors, and often works half of Christmas Day as well. Clearly one of the gifts of being royal is boundless energy and long life.

Getting your passport stamped with a Hutt River visa (yours for just $4) and taking a selfie with Leonard, in his monogrammed, crisp white shirt, keeps the tourists happy, but he also has some well-worn gags that he weaves into his Princely patter. “That’s a picture of me in the air force back in World War II, when I was much younger, in case you’re wondering why I look different.” He’s a bit like an older, more regal Daryl Somers.

We drag Len – as his sons call him, although some of the staff prefer “Sire” – away from his people to go for a drive in the Bentley and he’s hugely impressed, particularly with the heated seats, declaring the car worthy of royalty. He even takes it for a drive, and struggles a bit to see over the dash. Sadly, it’s no sale, however, because his Royal Fridge Magnets won’t adhere to the aluminium panels.

He takes us to a Hutt River crossing so we can put the Bentayga’s off-road credentials to the test and, while it doesn’t give up and die by any means, there’s a lot of unseemly whirring and clunking from somewhere far beneath us as the faux-wheel-drive systems desperately try to cope with actual mud and rocks.

We have a hard time working out which one of the off-road settings to use because they’re all depicted with silly pictures that suggest they’re only for things like Driving Next to Cactuses, or Catching a Snowflake On Your Tongue.

Frankly, treating the Bentley like this and getting it all filthy feels inappropriate, like asking Prince Edward to marry a woman. It would be far more at home driving to some Swiss ski resort.

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AS WE gaze out across his unique corner of our divided nation, Prince Leonard tells me he’s in the process of negotiating a treaty with the Australian government, and points out a flat stretch of ground where he’s planning to build an international airport.

“Over the years I’ve had a series of skirmishes with lots of prime ministers – Malcolm Fraser particularly hated me – but I’ve outlasted them all, and recently we’ve been discussing a treaty,” he explains.

“If it happens, we’d basically have a Hong Kong within Australia, and I’d allow development because I’ve had people wanting to build big resorts here for years, and we could have an airport, direct flights from Jakarta, no problem. This area is the same size as Hong Kong, but we don’t want the same number of people.”

I ask one of his sons, Richard, if he thinks his dad has delusions of grandeur and whether the robes, the titles, the whole royal rumble, are really necessary.

“We became a principality rather than a province because it offered more legal protection,” Prince Richard explains. “That’s what it’s always been about. It’s not about tax because the ATO treats us as non-residents for tax purposes, so we still pay, but we don’t get Medicare or any kinds of subsidies or benefits; we’d be better off, financially, not having left.

“But Dad has always fought them, and we’ve backed him, and once you’re a principality you have to have your own currency, your own stamps (or you can’t mail things), and your own passports. You’re not independent if you’re using other people’s stuff.”

As for the money Hutt River makes off tourism, Richard says it’s been both minimal – “Dad won’t let us put the prices up, that’s not what he’s about, you can camp here for $5 a night and he’s selling cans of drink for $2” – and accidental.

“Tourism was never the plan; the plan was to save the farm, that’s it,” he says. “No bullshit, we were farmers. Secession arguments started and next thing there’s a coach pulling up … all we’ve got here is a farmhouse and a shearing shed, but they’d heard about Hutt River so the coaches started coming through and we were like: ‘Bloody hell, what are we going to do with all these people? I hope they don’t want morning tea!’”

At its peak, back in the days when people used to love coach tours, the Principality hosted 60,000 visitors a year, but it’s roughly a quarter of that now.

For his part, Prince Leonard is happy to see them all, and to explain to them his belief that you should never let authority grind you down. So does he feel satisfied with what he’s achieved, turning himself and his family into royalty, mainly through an effort of will?

“I don’t really have time to sit back and think about it like that because there’s always the next battle to be fought, but I feel good,” Len says. “I feel confident that we’ve never given up the fight, and I think we’ve succeeded because we’re still here.”

War with Australia

You might have missed this fact in your school history lessons, but Prince Leonard declared war on Australia, on December 2, 1977, mainly because he’d had a gutful of then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, which is understandable.

“He’d instructed his taxation department to go after us. We had three court cases in a row; they went to war with us, and I said let’s make it a real war then – that set them back a bit,” he chuckles.

“I heard later the politicians in Canberra were laughing their heads off; ‘That Prince has really flipped his lid now’.

“The thing is, it brought in the laws of war, and I was able to give notification to Malcolm Fraser and the Governor-General, and the Swiss Federal Council, that we did accept and apply the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which meant that our Principality had to be recognised.

“The war never really officially ended,” he adds. “I declared it finished, but they haven’t so the conflict continues…”

More fuel you

You might think the Bentayga would make the perfect vehicle for a cross-continental jaunt, but it’s actually so thirsty – and for Premium Unleaded – that you’d be lucky to make it across the Principality and back.

Despite being fitted with an 85-litre tank, which had us in tears at every overpriced West Australian roadhouse we visited, we struggled to get even 500km between refills.

Bentley claims an urban thirst of 19.0L/100km and a combined figure 13.1L/100km, but we saw closer to 16, despite most of our journey consisting of 110km/h cruising on long, straight highways.

Money no option

Considering you could have a top-spec Porsche Cayenne Turbo for $230,800, or less than half the price of the bonkers Bentayga, you get a sense that the pricing is set at a level designed to give owners something to brag about.

When you consider the options they’re gouging people with, though, it looks more like a case of fools and their money being soon parted. Sir can spend almost $3000 on floor mats alone – plush, lambswool mats that you feel bad getting mud on, which makes no sense for an SUV – or $14,767 for a rear-seat entertainment system, with Google Maps, in case you don’t trust your driver’s ability to read.

The list goes on and on, up to the Linley Hamper by Mulliner, for $57,807, which must be one hell of a picnic basket.

All these options pale into pocket change, though, next to the $300,000 Breitling clock, which on its own costs more than a Cayenne. Sadly, our car wasn’t fitted with one, so we can’t tell you what special things it does with time.

Stephen Corby

Volkswagen Australia has finally revealed the prices and features of the new Golf Mk8, having waited since 2013 for a comprehensive update to the Golf range.

Based on the same MQB chassis as the outgoing Mk7 and 7.5, the Mk8 gets a brand new exterior design and refurbished interior alongside a plethora of technology updates to bring it in line with its rivals.

Starting out at $29,350 for the entry-level Golf, prices range up to $53,100 with the GTI acting as the top-shelf model until the R arrives down the track.

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Pricing

As well as the five different combinations of trim and transmission for the Golf hatch, Volkswagen will also be delivering the Mk8 as a wagon, offering two more variants onto the range (all prices before on-road costs):

Different paints are available within the Golf range, setting buyers back:

Three optional packages can be added to certain variants, giving more features than what is listed further below:

Sound and Vision Package – $1500 (Life, R-Line, GTI)

Comfort and Style Package – $2000 (Life)

Luxury Package – $3800 (GTI)

A panoramic glass sunroof can be optioned on the R-Line for $1800.

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Features

As Australia’s fifth-most popular hatchback in 2020, Volkswagen has had to throw more features at the new Golf to try and entice buyers to move away form the segment-leading Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30 and Mazda 3.

The eponymous Golf trim serves as the base upon which everything is added. As standard, it features:

Stepping up to the Life, buyers get more kit as standard as well as the optional packs which can’t be added to the base model:

R-Line owners get the biggest upgrades before moving up to the GTI, still based on the same platform as the Golf and Life but with:

Finally the performance focused GTI, scoring much of the same trim as the R-Line but with a few additions:

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Engine, drivetrain and fuel economy

All Golfs, bar the GTI, are powered by the same 1.4-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine which has been found in the outgoing Mk7 110TSI models, making 110kW and 250Nm.

Power is sent to the front wheels through either a six-speed manual transmission, as is found in the base trim only, or an eight-speed Aisin torque-converter automatic, helping to achieve fuel-economy figures of 6.0L and 5.8L/100km respectively.

The GTI gets the fourth-generation EA888 engine, a 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder unit which punches out 180kW and 370Nm, delivering power to the front tyres via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

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Safety

All Golf variants scored five-stars in ANCAP safety testing, with a 95 per cent score for adult occupant protection, 89 per cent for children, 76 per cent for vulnerable road users and 80 per cent for its safety assistance systems.

Inside every Golf is a range of safety features to protect those in the cabin, including:

The Volkswagen IQ.DRIVE system is also standard across the range, implementing technology to prevent accidents with features such as:

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Dimensions

Exterior measurements for the GTI hatch have changed slightly from the Mk7.5, now standing at 4287mm in length (9mm increase), 1789mm wide (10mm decrease), 1463mm tall (21mm increase) and with a wheelbase of 2631mm (5mm increase).

Weight sits between 1270kg for the base model Golf and 1409kg for the GTI, the heaviest of the range.

Boot space with the rear seats up has changed by a litre, now at 381L, but as dropped by 53L with the back seats down to now hold 1237L.

No measurements for the wagon have yet been released.

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Warranty and servicing

All Golf models are covered by Volkswagen’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty with one year of roadside assistance included.

Servicing is available under one of two plans through VW for both the standard Golf and GTI variants.

Golf, Golf Life and Golf R-Line buyers can purchase either a three-year/45,000km service pack for $1100 or a five-year/75,000km pack for $1900, providing savings of around $200 to $800 off the cost of the assured price servicing.

GTI owners can be covered for the same period at a cost of $1450 for the three-year pack or $2300 for five, again representing a saving of between $200 and $900 given the 60,000km DSG service on the GTI is a major one.

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Availability

All regular Golf hatch variants as well as the GTI are now available to purchase, though the Wagon is expected to land in July.

Production could soon slow down though due to a global semiconductor shortage, hampering Golfs with the Harman Kardon sound system as well as the GTI’s DSG gearbox.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia is recalling almost 12,000 examples cars shared between its Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee due to faults.

The main recall concerns the crankshaft in 11,632 units of the WK model Grand Cherokee that are sold between June 1, 2013 and January 1, 2019.

Meanwhile, 203 units of the 2021 KL Cherokee sold between February 1 and May 31 this year are also impacted by a transmission fluid leak.

According to Product Safety Australia, the 2014-2015 Grand Cherokees to be recalled have a faulty crank shaft position sensor, which could result in the engine possibly stalling, losing power or drivers being unable to restart the car – all of which could lead to an accident.

Meanwhile, the 2021 Cherokee’s transmission oil cooler hose may have been manufactured with incorrectly cured rubber which could rupture, causing transmission fluid to leak and catch fire.

A list of VINs for affected 2014-2015 vehicles is available here, and 2021 models here.

FCA Australia has said it will notify affected owners, who can take their vehicle to an authorised Chrysler Dodge and Jeep Dealer for repair, free of charge.

For further information, consumers can phone 1300 133 079 or contact Jeep on its website: https://www.jeep.com.au/contact-us.html

*This article was updated on July 7 to accurately reflect the split between Grand Cherokee and Cherokee models affected

Honda has announced it will cease production of the right-hand-drive version of its Odyssey people-move when its Japan plant closes next year.

The Sayama plant outside Tokyo is the birthplace of the Australian delivered Odyssey. The facility has produced the model in its current generation since 2014, including the facelifted version revealed earlier this year.

Though the intention to close the plant has been known since 2017, Honda’s recent announcement has set a final date of March 2022, and as a result, production of both the Clarity and Legend will finish from that time.

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A Honda Australia spokesperson told WhichCar the closure will not immediately impact Australia, as the local arm of the manufacturer will continue to take stock of the Odyssey into next year.

“As the business progresses towards the planned closure, there are no immediate changes which will impact Honda Australia or our customers,” said the spokesperson.

“We will continue to take the Odyssey from Japan until it reaches the end of its lifecycle in 2022.”

Honda will still produce the Odyssey at its Guangzhou plant in China, though this model will be left-hand-drive only, essentially confirming the end for the Australian version as we know it.

Just 1091 Odysseys were sold in Australia throughout 2020 – a 35 per cent drop compared to 2019 – but it remained as the second-most popular sub-$60,000 people-mover, behind the Kia Carnival which sold 6493 units.

Honda has announced its Clarity model will cease to exist globally as it shuts down the Japanese plant where it is made, dealing a serious blow to hydrogen fuel cell supporters.

According to the publication Nikkei, both the hydrogen fuel cell electric (FCEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variants of the Clarity will be on the chopping block, Honda choosing not to produce the vehicle elsewhere when its Sayama plant closes in March 2022.

Available as a lease-only vehicle in Japan, Europe and the United States, the Clarity has endured dwindling demand, with American examples only sold in Southern California due to a lack of hydrogen fuel stations.

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In the US, of the 11,654 Clarity units sold in 2019, just 2089 of those were hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, representing just under 18 per cent of the model’s sales with overall figures continuing to fall to 4215 in 2020.

According to the California Fuel Partnership, there have been 10,665 fuel cell electric vehicles sold in the United States but there are only 46 hydrogen stations available in California.

In a statement to American publication Motor1, Honda said it wants 100 per cent battery electric or FCEV vehicle sales by 2040 with an overall target to be carbon neutral by 2050.

“Now, with a commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050, Honda has set a target to make 100 per cent of our vehicles sales battery-electric (BEV) or fuel cell electric (FCEV) by 2040,” the statement read.

“We are evolving our strategy with a focus on increased application of our two-motor hybrid system to core models in advance of the introduction of our first volume of BEV models in 2024.

“Consistent with this strategy, Honda will conclude production of the Clarity plug-in hybrid and Clarity fuel-cell in August 2021. This will ensure we have the Clarity fuel-cell available for lease through 2022, and Honda will continue to support our Clarity customers in the marketplace.”

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Honda and General Motors entered into a partnership together in 2013 to develop fuel-cell vehicle technologies, setting up a joint venture in 2017 aimed at producing battery systems for the vehicles, with the Japanese manufacturer saying the partnership will continue into the future.

“FCEVs will play a key role in our zero emissions strategy, which is being advanced by our joint manufacturing and development agreements.

“We continue to make significant investments in fuel-cell infrastructure and battery technology.”

There are currently no hydrogen vehicles for public sale in Australia – though the Australian Capital Territory Government currently has a fleet of 20 Hyundai Nexo FCEVs, with two filling stations at a Hyundai dealer in Phillip as well as a dedicated ActewAGL station in Fyshwick.

As a hot hatch consistently regarded as the consummate all-rounder, the Golf GTI hasn’t needed to set racetracks alight.

The heritage-heavy hatchback’s success has been based on a seemingly inimitable formula: fun-to-drive five-door (sometimes three-door) with everyday usability over single-focused ability. Or, where refinement and subtlety beat rawness and rowdiness.

As we find ourselves at Sydney’s Luddenham circuit for the local launch of the eighth-generation GTI, the “brains over brawn” approach – to use VW’s words – is even more emphatic.

While the Mk8 GTI carries over the same 180kW/370Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder from its predecessor, the Golf’s chief new trick is a driving dynamics computer.

The Vehicle Dynamics Manager (VDM) is designed to keep the GTI’s limited-slip front diff, ESC-based electronic diff and adaptive suspension all synced through corners rather than operating independently.

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There are significant componentry changes, too. Front suspension alterations include an aluminium subframe that increases stiffness while reducing weight by three kilograms. Spring rates are also increased front and rear – by five and 15 per cent respectively.

The Mk7 GTI, particularly in Performance guise, gave a respectable account of itself on the track, though multiple laps of the short-and-sweet Luddenham Raceway point to a hot hatch that is now even sharper.

You can drive the GTI with the kind of smoothness that matches the car’s trademark civility, though you can also get a little more ambitious – a little sillier – with corner entry speeds and still have some hope of staying in the vicinity of your desired line.

There seems to be a bit more going on underneath this GTI to pique a hyper-keen driver’s interest.

Through Luddenham’s best corner – a medium speed, uphill right-hander that tempts you to be greedy but is tighter than the initially wide entry suggests – the GTI’s chassis feels alive as it four-wheel slides across the apex, adjusting to subtle lifts and nudges of the throttle pedal.

The GTI’s chassis feels alive as it four-wheel slides across the apex, adjusting to subtle lifts and nudges of the throttle pedal

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Drivers again have access to a range of drive modes that influence steering, drivetrain, and suspension. The GTI Mk8 takes the variable dampers to another level. Up to 15 of them. The multitude of damper settings are accessed via the Individual drive mode and presented as a conveniently clever sliding scale on the centre touchscreen.

The settings go beyond both the Comfort and Sport defaults. The car doesn’t become sloppy even in its softest setting, but it indubitably feels at its tautest and sharpest in its stiffest set-up.

Drivers can also vary the interventions of the stability and traction control systems, though the ESP Sport and ESP Off modes are less intuitively located – requiring a press of the touchscreen’s Vehicle Settings button then a swipe down.

More helpfully, the ESP and Suspension screens will stay selected for as long as the driver wants them visible.

ESP Sport allows some movement without the electronics feeling overly intrusive. ESP Off is described by VW as a mode for “ambitious drivers”, though while the GTI’s rear can step out slightly with a mid-corner lift, there’s nothing spooky about the handling.

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Although Luddenham isn’t the most demanding track for heavy braking, the GTI’s stoppers (inherited from the former Golf R) performed with consistent feel and strength for successive laps where they were required.

Our test car’s 18-inch Bridgestone Turanza tyres complemented the action with consistently good grip.

The GTI gets its power down neatly, too, with neither excessive wheelspin nor torque steer when accelerating hard out of slower corners.

In GTI tradition, the steering isn’t especially communicative but serves the driver well with its accuracy and medium weighting. It remains quick, too, at 2.1 turns lock to lock.

VW’s mid-range hot hatch doesn’t feel any quicker than before, nor is it in claimed acceleration figures. The 6.4 second 0-100km/h time is unchanged for a car that, with no extra kilowatts but about 32kg extra mass, has a slightly inferior power-to-weight ratio than before.

Performance from the EA888 engine is still enjoyable. Minimal lag, linear delivery, and a hearty mid-range. It revs cleanly towards higher rpms, though an earlier upshift always feels more productive to exploit a wide torque band covering 1600 to 4300rpm.

And there’s no missing the bright red central rev counter, complete with GTI logo, provided by the new standard digital instrument cluster (which includes a lap timer as an alternative view).

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With limited demand killing the local business case for a six-speed manual, paddles and a seven-speed dual-clutch auto are the driver’s tools for switching between gears. The levers are small but well-positioned on the steering wheel, making upshifts easy even when there’s some steering lock applied.

The EA888 four-cylinder continues to sound purposeful, though exhaust theatrics seemed a bit subdued.

A more thrilling soundtrack would undoubtedly be expected from the faster and more powerful Clubsport 45 available in the UK and Europe, though for now VW Australia isn’t planning to import that 221kW/400Nm variant.

It’s almost certain that some form of special edition will eventually follow the likes of the GTI 40 Years and GTI TCR brought here previously, though the regular model’s price is already a bit of an elephant in the pitlane garage.

With an RRP of $53,100 before on-roads, the Mk8 GTI is priced more than 10 per cent above the last Mk7.5. Only three years ago, you could buy a three-door manual GTI Original from $37,490, with the five-door costing from $41,990.

Factor in on-road charges and buyers are looking at about $58,000.

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There’s never been more standard equipment in a GTI, however. Even over the well-equipped 7.5, the latest model’s gains include metallic paint, privacy glass, three-zone (rather than dual-zone) climate control, wireless smartphone charging, 30-colour customisable LED ambient interior, and a 10.0-inch infotainment touchscreen (where even a 9.2-inch display was previously optional over the standard 8.0-inch screen).

The Digital Cockpit Pro also brings a sharper and brighter instrument display over the former Active Info Display.

And an expanded driver assistance suite includes a warning system to stop occupants from opening doors into oncoming traffic (Exit Warning), auto-braking in the event of turning across an oncoming car (Intersection Assist), and partial autonomous steering (Travel Assist).

There are still a couple of option packs, which can further embellish the interior with various items but have no influence on the way the GTI drives. Not even 19-inch wheels are now offered, with VW Australia believing the 18s provide the perfect ride/handling balance.

For now, we only know how the Mk8 GTI drives on a track, and it ticks that box in a convincing way. But to truly understand how good a GTI the Mk8 is, we’ll need normal roads and the everyday grind to fully test its roundedness.

Editor’s note: As a crowded track test, we have left this review unscored. To see how the new GTI scores, watch for our comprehensive reviews in the coming weeks.

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Suzuki Australia has had to issue another recall for its Jimny four-wheel-drive, with two separate problems involved.

The first being the potential for the wiring harness in both the driver and passenger doors to be cut by opening or closing the doors, possibly preventing the side and curtain airbags from deploying in the event of an accident.

This problem affects 4036 2019-2020 cars sold between August 1, 2018 and December 2, 2020. A list of relevant cars sold nationally can be found here, while separately those specifically sold in Queensland can find their list here.

Suzuki says it doesn’t expect to receive parts to rectify the problem until July.

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The second recall then covers a total of 206 2018 vehicles sold between May 9 and November 22, 2018, which have an improperly manufactured fuel pump which could swell and stop functioning.

Again, the recall covers nationally sold vehicles as well as others bought specifically in Queensland, though in this case parts are currently available and Suzuki is encouraging affected owners to locate their nearest dealer or call 1800 777 088.

Suzuki has had great success with the Jimny in Australia since its release at the start of 2019, having gone through three price increases due to the high demand which has seen waiting lists of up to 12 months.

Last month however, the Jimny was also recalled over a windscreen bonding issue.

Suzuki last week announced a new Jimny Lite model, coming to the market later this year as a stripped-back version of the already basic Jimny, available as a manual only.