Inhaltsverzeichnis für March 2020 in Wheels

IT MIGHT leave you asking “what the?” but the rally-raid Alpine A110 SportsX concept certainly has our attention. And it’s but the latest in a growing trend of jacked-up sports coupes that the industry seems to be gauging public appetite for. This tribute to the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally-winning A110 isn’t slated for sale as yet, but such is the rapid prototyping flexibility in Dieppe that it’s not inconceivable that it could be made production-viable. To help the SportsX cope off-road, ride height has been raised 60mm The SportsX concept is based on the A110 Pure, with the body and track widened by 80mm over the standard Alpine to fit the beefier rubber. To help the two-door coupe cope with rough terrain, the ride height has been raised by 60mm…

But please, keep it tight (no more than 200 words) and do include your suburb if via email: wheels@wheelsmag.com.au You can also have your say on Facebook (search for Wheels Australia), Instagram or Twitter LETTER OF THE MONTH “When I catch myself in the shop window in my VF, it evokes a national pride…” REFLECTING ON TRUE AUSSIE COOL THE DEATH of Australian cars signified the death of cool. No-one has ever caught themselves in a shopfront window and thought to themselves, “Gee, how good does this sun look reflecting off my SsangYong Musso”. Australian manufacturing brought with it a sense of refined yet bold styling that we sought out as buyers. Going back to the ever-sexy HQ Monaro, to the sharp and sophisticated styling of the FG X Falcon,…

Model Honda NSX NA1 Engine 2977cc V6 (900), dohc, 24v Max power 201kW @ 7100rpm Max torque 285Nm @ 5300rpm Transmission 5-speed manual Weight 1365kg 0-100km/h 5.6sec (tested) Economy 10.0L/100km (claimed) Price $159,900 (1991) WAS THE HONDA NSX a failure? Bit of a loaded question, but consider this. In 16 years on sale, it shifted 18,685 units worldwide. By contrast, between 1989 and 2004, Ferrari sold nearly 38,000 examples of the V8-powered 348, F355 and 360 models, the very cars that the NSX had been designed to shuffle off into obsolescence. Of course the alternate view is that Honda came from nowhere to carve out a significant part of the junior supercar market, which would tend to ignore the fact that the Porsche 996 alone sold over 175,000 units between…

IT TAKES serious bravado to launch a challenger brand into Australia’s tribal vehicle market. The ghostly stillness in Infiniti showrooms is a timely reminder that it takes more than just confidence to prevail. With just a pair of luxury sedans to represent Genesis in Australia, for a while it looked like Hyundai’s premium outpost was facing a similar fate to Nissan’s equivalent. However, the South Korean hopeful finally has this, the GV80, that competes with the heavy hitters in a far more lucrative segment. Rather than chasing meagre pickings in the contracting sedan market, the GV80 slots into the relatively rich seam that is large luxury SUVs, and it promises an impressive armoury. Pricing and exact specs are to be confirmed, but when it arrives halfway through 2020, three engines…

Model Audi RS Q8 Engine 3996cc V8 (90°), dohc, 32v, twin-turbo, mild hybrid Max power 441kW @ 6000rpm Max torque 800Nm @ 2200-4500rpm Transmission 8-speed automatic Weight 2300kg (estimated) 0-100km/h 3.8sec (claimed) Economy 12.1L/100km Price $250,000 (estimated) On sale Q3 2020 AUDI’S URUS is a succinct way to summarise the new RS Q8. Extensive Audi Sport improvements make this high-performance version of the Q8 the quickest-ever SUV around the Nurburgring. Does this 7m42s feat make Lamborghini envious? Probably, although Sant’Agata Bolognese can derive some consolation from the fact that their SUV is fractionally quicker 0-100km/h; 3.6 seconds, compared with 3.8 seconds for the RS Q8. The new Audi and the Lamborghini are the pinnacle performers built on VW Group’s MLB Evo architecture. This platform provides foundations for the VW Touareg,…

It looks vacuumed to the scabby bitumen, the Michelin tyres snuggling neatly into the arches A CONFESSION. I didn’t get much sleep the night before Wheels’ appointment with the Ford Mustang R-Spec. Perhaps it was the combination of it being build #001, the only one in existence and required at its own press launch a few days later, and the fact that my first acquaintance with it would be to put a helmet on and fire it down Heathcote’s strip, north of Melbourne, but I’ll freely admit to being a little bit spooked. “We don’t have any power or torque figures for it yet,” said Ford’s Damion Smy, not exactly salving any apprehension. “Just don’t break it.” A cheery thumbs up and he was gone, leaving us with one of…

Seltos 1. SPEAK UP The Bose door speakers on the Seltos divided opinion. Some thought the angular grilles looked pre-dented, while others thought they looked like a stealth fighter. 2. ALL OF THE LIGHTS Kia’s Sound Mood Lighting on this GT-Line activates ambient lighting to reflect the mood and pace of the audio. It’ll impress the kids but you’ll tire of it pretty quickly. 3. BABY GOT BACK The back seats of the GT-Line are equipped with air vents, a fold-down armrest with cup holders and a USB port. Step down one trim grade and all that disappears. CX-30 1. DO NOT TOUCH The Mazda Connect infotainment is controlled by the rotary dial. Non-touchscreen works well within Mazda’s ecosystem but CarPlay and Android Auto can be irksome. 2. SAY IT…

I WAS ALWAYS FAIRLY SURE that Alastair Doak, Mazda’s marketing director in Australia, hates me, but the enormity of the enmity is a surprise. Only someone with a deep dislike of you would force you to dress up like a walrus and then throw you into the frigid and frankly frightening waters of the North Atlantic Ocean off Scotland’s icy Isle of Skye. Alastair – who wears his Scottish heritage with every elongated vowel and gnurled “r” sound, and an inability to use the word “small” instead of “wee” – swears that I will love the ‘coasteering’ adventure he’s taking me on as part of our Mazda 3 Isle of SkyActiv-X drive, but I know the truth. The fact is he has never forgiven me for the day, way back…

GENESIS G70 ULTIMATE SPORT Price as tested: $79,950 This month: 624km @ 11.6L/100km IGNORE THE automotive application of the term ‘parcel shelf’ and it sounds like a terrific thing; the place you come home to and find the courier has left you the cool stuff you forgot you ordered after a boozy night on eBay, like that Porsche 911 barbecue apron and the nose-hair trimmer. But really, in a car, who puts anything on the parcel shelf? Unless you’re a Camry-owning Uber driver with a tissue box dressed up with a decorative doily back there, or you actively want to be hit in the back of the skull with a six-pack while under heavy braking, I’d say no-one. I’ll go a step further and declare the parcel shelf the work…

MERCEDES-AMG A35 Price as tested: $76,792 This month: 1589km @ 9.7L/100km DING! Text message: “Bloody hell this A35 is nice!” Ding! “The right balance of fun performance and daily sensibilities.” Ding! “It’s almost a perfect long-termer…” So read the excited texts from Wheels online editor Cameron Kirby; a man clearly stoked that he’d managed to pry the AMG key fob from my grasp for his first proper steer in the A35. They say sharing is caring, but until now, I’d managed to successfully dodge that most cliched of sentiments. Every one of the A35’s 3000 or so kilometres as part of the Wheels garage had been at my hand, but that changed this month. On top of Kirby’s stint, the A35 also spent time in the care of Trent Giunco…

AT 105 YEARS old, Aston Martin has just received one of the largest cash injections in its history, saving the iconic manufacturer from financial disaster following a torrid couple of years. When the British brand was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, it was to much fanfare and optimism. What followed was a cascade of woe, resulting in the company’s value dropping by as much as 80 percent. Aston Martin was in a death spiral, and needed saving, desperately. A potential lifeline in the near-bottomless pockets of Chinese giant Geely soured, leaving the Brits high and dry with a new platform and a new factory to pay for. Enter Lawrence Stroll, who leads a consortium of investors that has now plunged A$962 million into the brand to stave…

OF ALL THE stars of this year’s Geneva motor show, a Kia SUV might not be the obvious choice for us to get excited about, but the new Sorento looks to have taken a major step forward. If this latest set of renderings from Kia are anything to go by, it’ll also introduce a lot of the design cues from both the US-market Telluride and the Seltos compact SUV that has already struck a significant chord with Australian buyer It’s a significant departure from the more bulbous third-gen Sorento The fourth-generation car, codenamed MQ4, looks a good deal more confident, featuring slender rectangular headlamps which flow into a bluffer interpretation of Kia’s signature tiger nose. Other styling flourishes include a chromed wedge at the C-pillar and tall mirrored tail-light pairs…

26 That’s the number of years it took Lamborghini to build 8205 vehicles, its annual sales figure for 2019. Last year was a monster for Sant’Agata, with sales lifting a massive 43 percent. Much of that is down to the Urus plant coming on stream, and expect that figure to vault above 10,000 units when the company’s fourth model line, rumoured to be a sports GT, arrives in 2025. When that 8205th vehicle rolled from the line in 1989, the company was building a mere 300 cars per year. Peak performers Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz is claiming a world altitude record after a pair of Unimog U 5023 climbed to 6694 metres above sea level on the world’s highest volcano. Ojos del Salado in Chile summits at 6894m, so there’s scope for…

THE OLD MAXIM that if it looks right, it is right, doesn’t always apply to aerodynamics. Common sense would seem to dictate that a wedge offers a more slippery presentation to the air than a teardrop shape, but we know better now, and curves work better than corners. In the 1960s and ’70s, the leading Italian design houses of Pininfarina, Bertone and Italdesign were nevertheless wedded to the power-packed profile of a low nose, sharply raked glass, integrated bumpers and muscular haunches. In many regards, 1968 was the year of the Wedge War. Pininfarina’s Paolo Martin introduced the Alfa Romeo P33 Roadster in Turin vying with Giorgetto Giugiaro’s one-box Bizzarrini Manta for most column inches. Both would have to give best to a shape penned by Bertone’s Marcello Gandini. His…

MARIO NAPOLEONE, MELBOURNE, VIC It’s hard to imagine a better owner for this car than Mario, secretary of Phillip Island Auto Racing Club. “It was advertised by a guy down in Morwell. He wanted to make sure it went to the right owner, so we didn’t so much buy it from him; he was very clear that he was selling it to us! It’s an amazing car. Servicing costs the same as an Accord V6. Did you know that the first two Targa Tasmania wins were claimed by NSXs?” “It attracts a lot of attention. When I’m driving it, I keep saying, ‘Don’t look at me, look at the road!’”…

Model Jeep JT Gladiator Rubicon Engine 3604cc V6 (60°), dohc, 24v Max power 213kW @ 6400rpm Max torque 353Nm @ 4400rpm Transmission 8-speed automatic Weight 2300kg (estimated) 0-100km/h 9.0sec (estimated) Economy 13.1L/100km Price $70,000 (estimated) On sale June 2020 (estimated) JEEP’S NEW Gladiator pick-up lands in Australian dealers mid-year, but Jeep shipped a handful of the muscular 4x4s to New Zealand’s South Island, to to give us a taste of this Wrangler-based ute drives. The vehicles on offer were left-hand-drive US-spec Gladiator Rubicon models with Jeep’s full arsenal of offroad weaponry. This includes: Dana live axles front and rear, fitted with extra-low 4.1:1 gears and locking centres; 4.1s in the transfer case for extra-low crawling ratios; a disconnecting front anti-roll bar; 33-inch off-road tyres and Fox Racing shock absorbers. Australia…

It’s hard to know quite where to look. Further along is an original 3.0 CSL Batmobile, and DTM cars are ripping huge wheelspins out of pit lane I’M ON A bus, sitting directly behind the driver, listening to him rant splenetically about a tent city that has materialised overnight on the freeway reservation. It’s my first acquaintance with South Africa and it doesn’t disappoint. As we pull up at a set of lights, the driver stops mid-sentence, looks in his rear-view mirror, yells “OH, FOKOFF!” and leaps out of the vehicle. An overweight gentleman is attempting to waddle off into the oncoming traffic with a suitcase he’s liberated from the bus’s luggage compartment. We’re here to sample BMW’s M Festival at Kyalami. Seems Johannesburg is here to sample us. Truth…

THE CRYSTAL BALL that provides an insight into the future of autonomous driving is a weird sphere of deeply divisive properties. In fact, it would seem that clarity comes not from the ball itself, but from the eyes of whoever is gazing into it. Some experts see nothing but a hazy point far into the future where humans are always going to be required behind the wheel. For others, the vision sparkles with complete clarity, where driverless taxis shuttle you seamlessly to your destination, or where you nap in the driver’s seat of your car on the boring, traffic-snarled commute home. No surprise that Audi’s Head of Advance Development Automated Driving, Miklos Kiss, is very firmly in the latter camp. He’s been a senior figure in this area for nearly…

VOLVO V60 T5 INSCRIPTION Price as tested: $72,390 This month: 933km @11.2L/100km GOING INTO the third month in my tenure of the Volvo V60, I can’t help but feel a bit guilty whenever I approach the car. Possibly like a lotto winner who bought a mansion in a ritzy suburb, or a person who found an incredibly attractive partner who actually likes them for their personality, I really feel like I don’t deserve this car. Realistically, I’m probably more suited to a beat-up VK Commodore. From its handsome exterior, to its premium-feeling, well-thought-out interior, there’s a real sense of occasion to every trip in this car. There was one aspect had me concerned when I was handed the keys though – the infotaintment. Call me old-fashioned, but there’s something I…

ALFA ROMEO – BMW YOUR COMPLETE NEW CAR BUYER’S GUIDE WHAT IT ALL MEANS PRICE: Recommended Retail Price at time of publication (* indicates driveaway) ENGINE TYPE: L = in-line, V = vee, F = flat. Number of cylinders. T = turbo, S = supercharged, D = diesel, H = hybrid, E = electric SIZE: Litres or kWh POWER: Kilowatts TORQUE: Newton metres TRANSMISSION: M = manual, A = automatic, D = dual-clutch, C = CVT WEIGHT: Kilograms 0-100: km/h acceleration in secs (Wheels tested figures in italics) FUEL CONS: Litres or kWh/100km RON: as numbered, D = diesel RESALE: %, 3-year resale in Glass’s ISSUE TESTED: month/year DRIVE: A = all-wheel, F = front, R = rear. All estimated figures listed in bold BMW – FORD YOUR COMPLETE NEW…

DUE MAY TOYOTA YARIS HYBRID This will be Toyota Australia’s most fuel-efficient car, boasting a combined consumption of just 3.3L/100km. It uses an all-new 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain and essentially replaces the Prius C hatch from the line-up. Prices for the new 2020 Yaris range are yet to be confirmed. DUE MAR SKODA KODIAQ RS Supply issues have hampered Skoda of late, but the Kodiaq RS will join part of a product onslaught in 2020. The $65,990 high-po mid-size SUV takes an unconventional route, using a 2.0-litre twin-turbo-diesel four-cylinder good for 176kW/500Nm. Skoda claims 0-100km/h in 7.0sec. DUE MAY AUDI A5 Small design tweaks and extra tech form the basis for the A5’s mid-life update. Like the R8, the A5/S5 gains ventilation slits above the single-frame grille as well as new…

It might not have a windscreen but the only thing eye-watering about McLaren’s ultra-exclusive Elva roadster is its $2.3m price tag, thanks to a brilliant aerodynamic trick. Like many mid-engined cars, cooling air enters through the McLaren’s nose, flows over the heat exchangers housed within and exits via a large vent in the bonnet. However, the warmed air has a dual purpose. When the Active Air Management System (AAMS) is activated, a carbonfibre deflector rises 150mm out of the bonnet ahead of the vent, creating lower pressure at its leading edge. This aerodynamic depression causes the air exiting the top of the bonnet to accelerate vertically, creating what McLaren describes as a ‘bubble of calm’. The column of air creates an invisible wall where a windscreen would normally be located,…

Model Mercedes-Benz GLS 400d Engine 2925cc 6cyl, dohc, 24v, turbo-diesel Power 243kW @ 3600-4000rpm Torque 700Nm @ 1200-3000rpm Transmission 9-speed automatic Weight 2490kg 0-100km/h 6.3sec (claimed) Economy 7.7L/100km Price $153,300 On sale Now MERCEDES-BENZ has taken the automotive phenomenon of ‘segment creep’ to the extreme with its new GLS, stretching the large SUV by 77mm compared to the previous generation and bringing its total length to 5207mm. Of that extra length, 60mm has been added directly between the wheels, for a wheelbase of 3135mm. Why? To make the GLS one of the most practical vehicles for carting a large number of people (and their luggage) this side of a people-mover Powering the GLS is a choice of two 3.0-litre straight-six turbocharged engines, which send power to all four wheels via…

So good is the C-HR’s ride and handling that it leaves you crying out for more power “GOOD DESIGN is thorough down to the last detail. Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the user.” You may know this as one of Dieter Rams’ 10 principles of good design. Rams, one of the 20th Century’s great thinkers on industrial design, formulated these tenets in the 1980s but they’re as valuable today as they ever were, all underpinned by one central commandment: “Weniger, aber besser” which translates to “Less, but better.” You can probably think of many cars that embody the polar opposite of this theme. “More, but worse” could apply to the wares of any number of mass-market manufacturers.…

It’s possible you could assume that a man whose career revolves around the goal of making driving an opt-in activity must not be especially passionate about the involvement and satisfaction of being behind the wheel. Well, you’d be wrong. Kiss is a proper driving and riding enthusiast, and the contents of his garage are testament to this. They include a much-loved Morgan, with the British roadster seeing plenty of action in the spectacular Alps region near his home in southern Germany. His other cherished toy is a Swiss-made MonoTracer, which is most often described as a ‘cabin motorcycle’; an enclosed, tandem-seat two-wheeler powered by a four-cylinder BMW motorcycle engine, and designed to give the rider the leaning, corner-carving thrill of a motorcycle, with the enclosed comfort of a car. “It’s…

1. HEADS UP The M135i has an informative head-up display, while the A35 doesn’t. Wireless charging and Harman Kardon sound are standard. Powered tailgate is optional. 2. SMALL TALK Like Merc’s MBUX system, the M135i allows you to cheerily hail it to carry out tasks. Android Auto still isn’t available, yet an Android phone can be used to unlock the car. Weird. 3. SPACE MATTERS BMW’s cabin isn’t as roomy as the Benz. Legroom is tighter and the sunroof cuts into headroom. Plus there’s no central arm rest in the rear like you get in the A35. 1. YOUR WAY The fully digital 10.25-inch instrument cluster has three AMG interfaces allowing you to tailor the data you see. The central infotainment display is touchscreen. 2. GOOD STEER Now fitted with…

TOYOTA RAV4 GXL HYBRID Price as tested: $42,934 This month: 2420km @ 5.3L/100km IS 580 LITRES a lot? What might once have been a stretching beer consumption target for David Boon on a long-haul flight takes on a very different meaning when converted to the amount of luggage space in your SUV. Nevertheless, that’s what you can carry in a RAV4 Hybrid before you start folding the rear seats down. And it is, indeed, a big number. Compare that to the Range Rover Velar I was running, ostensibly a car from a class or two up, and the RAV4 beats the Rangie by 22 litres with the seats in place. Drop the seats and you have 1690 litres to play with. This is key because it means I can throw…

SIR ALEC ISSIGONIS gets endless love for the tiny sedan with a wheel at each corner that he created in 1959. Often overlooked (easily done, if the windscreen’s folded) is the sister car that Issigonis himself designed immediately after as a light off-road personnel carrier. ‘Light’ is the operative word. Issigonis’s Mini Moke amounted to an open body of steel box sections, braced by front and rear bulkheads, and a cross-brace supporting the front seats. The hollow side pontoons served as panniers for small luggage, tools, battery and the petrol tank. A folding fabric roof was provided, with no side screens. Mounted on conventional Mini front and rear subframes, with rubber-cone suspension, 10-inch wheels and a 2032mm wheelbase, the 848cc BMC A-series-powered Moke weighed just 534kg – around 50kg less…

TOP THREE FORD XY FALCON UTE I’ve got a real hunger for Aussie steel and muscle, and I’ve always wanted an XY ute. It’s got a great stance, plus an Australian V8 engine that sounds really neat although you might only be doing 40km/h with your arm out the window. Throw my dirt bike in the back, meet my mates … it’d be beaut. BMW M3 The shape of the current M3 has long appealed to me. I find it very attractive, and it would make a practical Monday-to-Friday car. I could dream bigger, but this is what came first to mind, and if I could afford it I would definitely have one of these as my daily driver. MONSTER TRUCK I want a big ol’ monster truck simply because…