Table of contents for August 2019 in Wheels

DUE SEP TOYOTA SUPRA The first batch of 150 cars has sold out, so there’s plenty of people prepared to shell out up to $100K for this BMW-powered sports car. While the GT’s $84,900 price is more palatable, it misses out on the GTS’s 19-inch alloys housing four-piston front calipers, head-up display and JBL sound system. DUE AUG HYUNDAI VENUE Hyundai’s upcoming Venue will undercut the $23,500-plus ask for the Kona, making it among the cheapest small SUVs on sale. Sure, it will be snug inside, although it still promises to be roomier than the Mazda CX-3. DUE OCT KIA SELTOS It’s been a long wait, but Kia will finally have a small SUV in the form of the Seltos that lobs in October. Offering the choice of atmo…

“It’s got more power but the work’s been done beautifully. Original engine, original turbos” ROB MOORES – QLD Rob searched for the right specification Bathurst R for nearly five years before importing this immaculate 2001 model. It’s been treated to some subtle but sympathetic upgrades in the interim, including an uprated braking system, a catback exhaust and a boost controller. It makes around 265kW and has been cared for diligently. Rob was keen to source a car with perfect bodywork and free of modifications. It’s since been sold but its current owner is more than happy with a car that can still keep pace with a 911 GT3 on a challenging road.…

The contenders If you’re looking for a replacement to the large, Aussie-built six-cylinder sedan, then both the Mazda 6 and the Toyota Camry have plenty to offer. Officially classed as mid-size rivals both of these Japanese contenders offer loads of space, decent power and, believe it or not, keen dynamics. In terms of price, only two slabs of beer separate the $43,990 6 GT and $44,090 SL V6. Mazda’s venerable 6 has long been a favourite in the Wheels office, especially since it dropped the ‘26’ from its badge. With a model refresh bringing a new interior and the turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder from the CX-9, the perennial overachiever is ready to take on all. The Camry, on the other hand, is a beacon of staid motoring and sales success. In…

IT’S A HUMDINGER of a pub. Old and regal, The Hotel Belvedere clings to a mountainside high in the Swiss Alps, but it’s the road that really sets it apart. It’s so close to the pub that it touches it, the blacktop sweeping by so tightly that boozy beer hounds could feasibly brush passing traffic on their way back from the bar. It’s called the Furka Pass and it’s the kind of road you could imagine James Bond driving... because he has. Watch the opening sequence of 1964’s Goldfinger and you’ll spot a dashing Sean Connery at the wheel of his Aston Martin DB5, its nose cleaving a path through the pass’s hairpins. We had to visit it, naturally, and our idea, conceived in the middle of a typically scorching…

1. KIA PICANTO The Picanto’s smart and stylish cabin appeals with its minimalist dash, beaut tablet touchscreen, supportive front seats (offering the sole fore-aft headrest adjustment), theatre-style rear seating, a great driving position and plenty of standard features. On the flipside is its clammy vinyl upholstery, lack of steering reach adjustment, and absence of a digital speedo. A 255L cargo capacity reflects Kia’s sub-B city-friendly sizing. Space-saver spare. 2. RENAULT CLIO Clio’s cabin presents as the most premium here. Series II brought a welcome multimedia update but the small screen betrays its age. Front seats are sumptuous, less so out back. Low windscreen header and small wipers hem forward vision a little. The group’s only digital speedo has no analogue alternative and dated wheel controls lack night-time illumination. Heaps of…

AUTOMOTIVE powertrain engineers say ‘WOT’ quite frequently, not because they’re all a bit deaf, but because it’s techy, acronym-speak for ‘wide-open throttle’. You and I probably just call it ‘pinning the bastard to the boards’. Whatever the term, I’ve been doing it for a couple of minutes now and both revs and road speed have ceased to shift, so it’s safe to presume that this is V-max. At 4400rpm, the Raptor’s 2.0-litre twin-turbo-diesel doesn’t sound uncouth, more an insistent, gravel-edged snarl. It feels like the automotive equivalent of the heart, lungs and legs of a decent middle-distance runner coming onto the stadium’s home straight; there’s harmony and robustness, mixed with a clear sense that this is all it has to give. Our speed? A GPS-corrected 173km/h. A kerb weight of…

I MAY BE ON my own here, but I always find it both curious and pointless when the pilot of a commercial aircraft insists on sharing the flight plan with the passengers over the PA: “Folks, we’re going to take off in a southerly direction from the eastern runway, before hooking starboard over Wollongong, and making our way down the coast…” Is this really useful to anyone? Has anyone ever piped up and said, “What? Over Wollongong? That’s the long way, you muppet, terrible choice…” We all know where we’re supposed to be landing, so surely that’s all that matters? As well as interrupting the in-flight entertainment, it’s really just more extraneous information in an age that seems to thrive on over-sharing. I’m reminded of this each time I jump…

DID YOU KNOW there are three different ways to say goodbye in Korean, depending on who leaves and who is staying? No? Me neither, at least not until I sat down to write this farewell piece, at which point I also learned that Korean is one of the world’s oldest living languages, most likely a distant relative of the Ural-Altaic family of languages, which includes Mongolian, Finnish and Hungarian. Why do we need to know this? Well, in order to bid our Santa Fe long-termer a culturally appropriate farewell, of course. It turns out that the correct Korean phrase for when someone (or presumably something) is leaving is ‘annyeonghi gaseyo’, the translation of which is ‘go in peace’. However, if you’re leaving and the person you’re addressing is staying, you…

TOP THREE FERRARI 250 GT SWB I’ve always loved the dynamic visual quality of this car. It’s so expressive, full of visual energy and its proportions are perfect. It’s not the most beautiful car in the world, but it is the most spontaneous – as if it’s simply been drawn and there’s been no loss of its purity through the engineering process. It looks like it’s about to leap at you. JAGUAR F-TYPE We worked hard to create a worthy successor to the E-Type. It captures the confident stance of a modern Jaguar while giving a nod to Jag’s exotic past. Sports cars are about wrapping the sheet metal as tight to the mechanicals as is physically possible, and the F-Type does just that. Its plan view changes…

IF YOU’RE OLD enough to have a beard that’s grown Gandalf long, you might well stroke it fondly as you recall the heady days of the late 1970s, back when BMW’s performance aspirations were spearheaded by the brand’s first-ever mid-engined supercar, the M1. Born in 1978 from the pen of legendary Italian designer Giugiaro, the production M1 elevated BMW to a position of absolute performance superiority over its German rivals. The car was powered by a 3.5-litre inline six, good for a then-impressive 204kW and 0-100km/h in 5.3 seconds. But if the above profile fits your description, then you likely went from stroking that beard to tearing it out hair by painful hair when you heard in 2014 that BMW was launching a spiritual successor to the M1 – the…

THE GERMANS might not win at everything – they suck at cricket for a start – but they can claim to own the luxury-car market. Smaller, super-premium players from England and Italy swan in the background, but BMW, Benz and Audi are the triumphant triumvirate, despite a largely lukewarm challenge from Lexus, and other Japanese brands like the almost invisible Infiniti and Mazda’s forgotten Eunos. It comes as something of a shock, then, to hear Manfred Fitzgerald – the brand chief of Genesis Motors and the gent with the task of mapping out strategies and formulating its brand DNA – declaring that he wants to massage “Made in Korea” into a massive positive for the brand. “Being distinctly Korean is something no-one else can do,” the 55-year-old industry veteran says…

THE SUN IS shining, the fields are green and there’s not a Hemsworth in sight. It’s an idyllic drive on varied surfaces through countryside surrounding the rich and famous of Byron Bay. Lazy, road-hogging cows aside, it’s a fine spot for an, ahem, active jaunt in the German-built Ford Focus Active. Not even Ford can tell us if the Active is an SUV, a crossover or a hatchback. But its raised ride height (30mm front and 34mm rear), tough-guy cladding, bash plates and gravel-conquering traction modes make it a semi-rugged faux-wheel drive. Yes, the Active is front-wheel drive only, but it does utilise the C2 platform and independent rear suspension. Good. Priced at $29,990, the Active sits in the middle of the Focus range. The five-star ANCAP-rated package gains loads…

“IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR PURE TRACK CAPABILITY, IT’S AT LEAST 10 SECONDS QUICKER”ANDREAS PREUNINGER, PORSCHE’S HEAD OF GT ROAD CARS “IT HAS A brand-new, bespoke engine,” says Andreas Preuninger, Porsche’s GT road-car boss. Most significantly, he adds, and to a collective sigh of relief to all enthusiasts globally: “It’s a four-litre, naturally aspirated, flat-six.” Immediately, the GT boss confirms all the rumours that the Cayman GT4 and its Boxster Spyder relation would retain a flat-six instead of the more common 718’s turbocharged four-cylinder unit. Finally, a new Cayman that will sound like a proper Porsche, then. We’re in a studio near Weissach, a month or so before the GT department’s latest cars are revealed, for an early, exclusive walk-around with Preuninger and his team. “We tried not to change too…

Switzerland is famous for its ‘armed neutrality’, a stance it has held since 1516 which means it doesn’t take part in military conflict. Don’t, however, think it would be a pushover should you be considering an invasion. The Swiss maintain a full-time army and airforce, and require all males between 18-34 to complete military service. Then there are the secret bunkers. Hidden in mountains and also disguised in plain site as barns and cottages, the structures house heavy artillery, guns, supplies and ammunition. There are even rumours of a secret airforce base inside a mountain, which has camouflaged doors that slide open to allow fighter planes to rocket out of.…

Will we ever see the intriguing new Opel/Vauxhall Corsa? Once a twin to the departed Holden Barina, the now French-owned, ex-GM Europe subsidiary Opel has reinvented its German supermini for its sixth iteration as an ultra-modern, style machine, riding on the upcoming all-new Peugeot 208’s CMP platform. It’s even debuting in all-electric Corsa-e guise, just to underline how hip the 37-year-old nameplate has become. Embattled Holden won’t get it (or can’t, probably), but PSA may eventually … one day, perhaps. Please.…

THE FIVE cars move quickly across country, chasing the setting sun. The convoy stretches and compacts like a slinky spring as the road contours eastwards, climbing out of river drainages and over the rolling crests of Mount Pleasant. It doubles back and gets even twistier, the sky now imperceptibly graded shades of umber, dust filtering through the ironbarks, the cars ahead just silhouettes; cryptic outlines phasing in and out of the dazzle. Up front is the unblinking tail-light bar of the new Porsche 911, the bunched-up bottle-rocket shape of the Jaguar F-Type SVR and there, most incongruous of all is the low and long Lotus Exige Sport 410, its high-mounted wing, extruded door mirrors and fat rear tyres looking like something from the GTE grid at Le Mans, landed here…

IDON’T THINK I’m a supercar kind of guy. That might seem an odd admission given that I’ve just enjoyed a long-term tenure with a 570GT, but if I had to summarise my relationship with the McLaren it would probably fall into the ‘complicated’ category. I never once stopped getting a kick out of seeing it in my garage. When my partner wasn’t looking, I’d often leave the door from the garage to the house open a nick, just to catch a glimpse of that sickle-shaped headlight as I walked between my bedroom and the kitchen. The 570GT was always a riot to drive, too. There’s something extremely life-affirming about waking up and realising that you’re going to be punting a carbon-tubbed missile with 280kW/ tonne up some amazing country roads…

SURELY THERE’S NO place more important in a car than where the driver touches it for most of its motoring life – bum on the seat, hands on the wheel, fingers on controls. Driving position, connection with the car and touch points quickly form an almost infrangible first impression; so there’s no point engineering a dynamically stunning vehicle and putting a wonky steering wheel on it. After living with the XC40 for a couple of months, I think that more than a cursory effort in this department is what helped Volvo’s small SUV claim victory in Wheels Car of the Year 2019. Though the sportier seats in the T5 are a touch narrow and flat to rival the cushy tush holders in some rivals, the breadth of adjustment to find…

I’VE ALWAYS LOVED John McEnroe, the friz-haired American tennis star with the short fuse and titanic dummy-spits. And I’ve long wondered how he approaches driving – could be quite the spectacle, I imagine. Ol’ John would no doubt constantly lose the plot, dropping F-bombs, bouncing between the horn and flashing the headlights. But while incidents of road-rage are well documented, I can’t remember witnessing anyone going full McEnroe recently, or even flashing their lights. Until the Jimny came along. Now well into our tenure of the Suzuki, young Kirby and I have had plenty of time to get familiar with its pros and cons. While we have much praise for the mini-wonder, a few minor chinks have begun to appear. Recently while cruising to work on the freeway, a driver…

one ANGRIER FACE ‘Jet-like’ external air vents add a muscular stance to the A45 S. The AMG-specific grille features 12 vertical louvres; yes, it’s functional, directing cool air to the turbo. two BABY GOT BACK Aggressive styling continues at the rear with a large wing and diffuser housing big quad tailpipes with internal fluting and AMG lettering. Get used to this sight. three WHEELS ARE TURNING A45 S models gain 19-inch alloy wheels (8.5 inches wide) wrapped in 245/35 tyres. Braking is improved with six-piston calipers and 360mm front discs.…

2 Congratulations to the Honda NSX, which has already equalled its entire 2018 sales figure of... two. Selling a total 6232 cars in June, the Japanese marque also notched its second-best monthly record in Honda Australia’s 50-year history. Who says good things don’t come in twos? GENESIS FTW Also due a hearty clap on the back is Genesis, which aced this year’s JD Power Initial Car Quality survey in the US. This survey logs the number of faults in the first 90 days of new-car ownership, and Genesis topped an all-Korean podium, with Kia and Hyundai rounding out the minor places. Jaguar and Land Rover’s report card wasn’t nearly as rosy, the two Brit brands occupying the wooden spoon positions. The Korean luxury brand also finally launched itself here, with…

LETTER OF THE MONTH “WHERE IS ALL THE ELECTRICITY GOING TO COME FROM TO CHARGE EVs?” POWER TO THE PEOPLE! IF IT’S AROUND... WHERE IS ALL the electricity going to come from to charge EVs? Using an EV that has a 40kWh battery, here’s what I’ve calculated, assuming: an average household uses 6000kWh/annum (16.5kWh/day); an average daily commute of 44km; and an average available distance of 240km. Given this, you’ll need to recharge your battery every five days, requiring 2900kWh over a year. ARENA is predicting that sales will be around 615,000 EVs per annum. By the year 2030 we could have 2,000,000 EVs in Australia with additional energy requirements of 5800gWh (5,800,000,000kWh)! The average household uses peak electricity in the early evening – not a good time to charge…

Model GLC 300 4Matic Engine 1991cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v, turbo Max power 190kW @ 5800-6100rpm Max torque 370Nm @ 1800-4000rpm Transmission 9-speed automatic Weight 1805kg 0-100km/h 6.2sec (claimed) Fuel economy 7.4L/100km Price $75,000 (estimated) On sale August 2019 CAR MAKERS often do incredibly perplexing things that make no sense. Witness Pontiac’s bizarrely styled Aztec, the W8-powered Volkswagen Passat and the Holden Viva. We could add the Mercedes-Benz GLK to that list. Based on the previous-generation C-Class, it was Daimler’s answer to the BMW X3, all the way back in 2008, when the breed was still mere fledgling. And yet somebody in Germany decided there was no need to engineer a right-hand-drive, all-wheel-drive version for the rest of the world. No doubt heads rolled over that, as rivals such as the…

Once the poor relation to the GT4, the Spyder is no longer a support act. Described by GT boss Andreas Preuninger as “an open GT4”, it gets the same engine, suspension and underbody aero as its coupe sibling. Preuninger likes open cars (his personal 993 is a cabriolet) and pushed hard for the 911 Speedster. He describes the Spyder as being: “a little bit like the Speedster... [it’s] a full-blown GT car, just without a roof. But for the purist; it’s gained a lot of performance.” If you missed out on the very limited (and $604,800) Speedster allocation, then this could be just the ticket. As Preuninger points out, at $209,000: “It’s about a third of the price but it’s not a third of the car.”…

“OH! WON’T SOMEBODY please think of the children!” Or at least the teens. Over the past few years, more than a handful of sub-$20,000 superminis have vanished from Aussie roads, as importers divert resources towards larger and more profitable SUVs and dual-cab utes. The list of the bargain-basement dearly departed reads like the In Memoriam at the Oscars: Holden Barina (after 33 years!), Hyundai i20 (and soon Accent), Nissan Micra, Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Up… The carnage is scandalous for lovers of compact, talented miniatures. Thankfully, some brands still see the sense in taking a punt on a peppy pint-sized runabout, luring buyers of all ages with the hope of nurturing lifelong loyalty. After all, a relationship has to start somewhere, right? So, we’ve corralled a trio of the remaining favourites…

For a company as focused on driving involvement as Lotus, it often had a blind spot regarding brakes. Poor pedal positioning and pads that would warp under heat stress and increase the pedal travel were a constant issue with early Exiges. There are no such problems with the Sport 410. The AP Racing two-piece discs offer greater cooling and debris clearance and combine with four-pot forged calipers for ample performance and pedal response. Couple that with a sharply mapped throttle and your heel/toe downchanges become both intuitive and theatrical.…

IT TOOK ALL of 10 seconds to have me doubting. The yellow twin-clutch Megane RS280 you saw here last month had gone back to Renault and in its place had arrived this tangerine-hued RS280 with a manual gearbox and the firmer Cup chassis, neither of which had created a positive first impression. The gearchange travel is long and the action noisy and clunky, while the ride can best be described as terse. It felt like I’d been downgraded. Since then I’ve gradually warmed to the Cup. I still don’t rate the shift action, but there’s a certain agricultural pleasure to clogging in a big boot of heel and toe in order to get round the awkward pedal positioning. The Torsen limited-slip differential that’s part of the Cup package also brings…

IT WAS CRUEL, really, bringing the Raptor along, but we had no choice, see. We needed its height, and its tray, to shoot the cover shot of last month’s magazine. It worked a treat, too – the resulting image was suitably evocative and arresting – but what we didn’t twig at the time was how the Raptor might fare in such illustrious company. You see, every one of the cars in the shoot was powered by a thumping V8 (Great V8s! was the cover line) and this, by association, did the Raptor’s 2.0-litre diesel no favours. The company you keep and all that. It’s a touchy topic this one, so it’s best to tread carefully. Much has been made of Ford’s curious decision to fit its flagship ute with a…