Table of contents for May 2020 in Wheels

DUE JUNE KIA SORENTO The fourth-gen, seven-seat SUV features a new exterior design, is built on Kia’s N3 platform, and gains an upmarket, tech-filled interior. The 148kW/440Nm turbo-diesel four and 206kW/336Nm V6 carry over, while an eight-speed dual-clutch has been added. Prices are yet to be set. DUE H2 HYUNDAI i30 SEDAN If you’re wondering where the Elantra is, don’t fret, it’s just been given a new name. The i30 sedan pairs divisive styling with a premium cabin, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and a ‘digital key’ feature. Base cars will use a 2.0-litre atmo four, with a turbocharged N-Line to come. DUE JUNE BMW M2 CS It’s a two-door coupe with rear-drive and a boosted inline-six up front. What’s not to like about the M2 CS? It’s not cheap at…

Model Skoda Kodiaq RS Engine 1968cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v, twin-turbo diesel Max power 176kW @ 4000rpm Max torque 500Nm @ 1750-2500rpm Transmission 7-speed dual-clutch Weight 1858kg 0-100km/h 6.9sec (claimed) Economy 6.2L/100km Price $65,990 On sale Q3 2020 AND LO, the age of the performance SUV did descend upon us like a plague, and we will do well to come out the other side. And people buy them, even if there’s no especially compelling reason to do so. To wit, Skoda’s Kodiaq RS. On face value, it’s a perfectly well-sorted mid-size seven-seat SUV, based on the bones of the VW Group’s MQB underpinnings and rammed full of valid spec. The model’s new range-topper breaks the mould by dint of its dieseldrinking powerplant, with its 2.0-litre twin-turbo four-pot oiler grunting out 176kW…

Like the road we’re driving, the A45 S isn’t a car that is either easy to master or to summarise THE ROAD VANISHES. It was there a second or two ago, but now it’s gone, lost in a riotous dazzle camouflage of hard shadows. The sun strobes through the eucalypts over my right shoulder as the car dives into a corner whose shape is gently suggested by a treeline that marches and merges onto a crest. The Eildon–Jamieson road is this for nearly 60km. It’s not the most scenic of Australia’s great driving roads, and nor is it the most varied, but in terms of sustained intensity of challenge, it could well be in a class of one. That’s why we’re here. Bringing the old Mercedes-AMG A45 to this scarred…

DEEP DIVE RUBBERY FIGURES Deeper tread grooves mean height for each tread block, which often means more movement, in turn affecting steering feel. It’s one reason those chunky mud-terrain tyres that dual-cab ute drivers insist on tearing around the suburbs on are so terrible on bitumen. But the more distance you’ve got between the carcass of the tyre and the actual tread surface, the more there is to wear away. We checked the tread depths of our 10 contenders and noticed big differences. Many had deeper central grooves and shallower outer ones, so the figures you see here are for the deepest central section. We’re only talking 1.1mm between best and worst, but when the deepest of the bunch is only 8.6mm deep, that’s a 13 percent difference. We also…

“IT WAS the first cone down!” said Renato excitedly after pushing just that bit too hard through one of our two wet corners. The Tucson was still pointing in the right direction, but an orange cone had a few more black marks down its side. Ultimately tyre compound and tread pattern can make a huge difference, even if there are compromises elsewhere, as the Maxxis proved. What it lacked in stability in dry cornering it made up for with grip on a slippery surface. Renato also praised its consistency despite some apparent flex in the sidewall. Whereas the weight and height of the Tucson proved a challenge with 1G peaks in the dry, they were less of an issue when the G forces were wound back to around 0.8/0.9G in…

REPORT FIVE VOLVO V60 T5 INSCRIPTION Price as tested: $72,390 This month: 1019km @ 9.9L/100km BEING FAITHFUL can be a challenge, and with an enticing variety of cars coming through the Wheels garage recently, I’m afraid to admit that I’ve strayed. With the V60’s keys offloaded to others, I’ve been having my way with everything from small hatches to seven-seat SUVs. It’s the different body shapes that get me. And all those drivetrains! But after putting myself about a bit, it was nice to jump back into the Volvo. It’s made me appreciate the competence and power of the wagon’s drivetrain. Unlike some of the others I’ve spent time with lately, there’s no doubting its capability in overtaking and acceleration. It may not be neck-snappingly quick, but with 187kW/350Nm on…

2020 NISSAN LEAF EVs will reach price parity with ICE cars by 2024 or sooner. Fast, fun to drive, and around a third the cost of a petrol car to fuel, it’s a no-brainer. I got my first Leaf in 2011 and would love to know what 10 years has done as far as engineering and the overall driving experience goes. TOP THREE HARLEY-DAVIDSON LIVEWIRE Who wouldn’t want pure, absolute, electric joy with just the flick of a wrist? Sure, I have a newborn baby at home, but this weapon of a bike does 0-100 in 3.0 seconds! Fair enough, too – when I pull the trigger on my cordless drill I don’t wait for it to get revs up, do I? Plus, I’m 46. I’m in the ‘Harley years’.…

IT WAS, in its heyday, the Mercedes-Benz model that represented the zenith of style and desirability offered by Germany’s oldest car company. The 300 SL ‘gullwing’ of 1954 remains an enduring icon, while the later W113 generation remained in production for a staggering 18 years. The SL was a model that arguably peaked with the R129 generation; the Bruno Sacco-designed masterpiece built from 1989 to 2002 that epitomised fast, luxurious, open-topped motoring. But like a fading Hollywood star, the SL has long been in decline. In 2012, for example, Benz shifted nearly 5000 SLs in the USA (the model’s largest market); last year, that tally was under 1700. So how to reverse this? Step one, hand over the development of the new model to Mercedes-AMG, and use the Affalterbach division’s…

THERE’S A NEW name that motoring enthusiasts need to take note of: VinFast. The Vietnamese-owned car maker has thrown a lifeline to Holden employees scrambling for jobs after GM’s decision to axe the brand. The company has been snapping up Australia’s best engineers following the end of local manufacturing – and with the shutters falling at Holden, leaving 800 workers in the lurch, it’s seizing the opportunity to hire more. It’s estimated that a few hundred Australians will be employed by the end of the hiring spree. VinFast is owned by Vietnam’s largest private business, Vingroup, with assets totalling $35 billion. It has started up an Australian engineering hub, VinFast Engineering Australia, with a number of ex-Holden, Ford, and Toyota employees on the payroll. The man in charge is ex-GM…

GRIP IS IMPORTANT but how well a tyre responds to quick direction changes is crucial to complete the performance picture. In around six seconds our slalom flip-flops each tyre from full lateral load in either direction five times. Even setting it up had Renato excited at the thought, the slalom bringing seat-of-the-pants feel to tenths and hundredths of a second. There was no pacing out the cones to get them vaguely right. Instead it was out with the trundle wheel to ensure each was precisely 24 metres apart. Perfect for a circa-70km/h entry. It’s a brutal test that occasionally kicks a Tucson wheel skyward – depending on how well the tyre is holding its shape and how well the compound is keying into the asphalt. More than any other test…

BIG DISTANCES can lead to big frustration on good ol’ Aussie coarse-chip bitumen if the tyres you’re rolling on send too much white noise back into the cabin. It’s a problem for manufacturers, who don’t want frustrated customers rushing back to dealerships to tell them the car is unbearable. So it’s perhaps no surprise that the Nexen N’priz RH7 fitted standard to our Tucson, but not included in our field, aced the noise test. At 80km/h the noise into the cabin peaked at 58.5dB, according to our Digitech sound meter. That was better than all 10 of our contenders by at least 0.7dB. Granted, the short strip at the base of the Sydney Dragway car park is a long way from the rolling Hay Plains, but it gives us a…

REPORT TWO MAZDA CX-30 Price as tested: $42,180 This month: 1571km @ 8.4L/100km I’VE COME to realise that running a long-termer like this Mazda CX-30 has both plus and minus sides to the ledger. While it’s great to really get to know a vehicle in the way that you never can with just a day or two spent on a road test, it’s inevitable that manufacturers engineer their cars to make the good stuff overt and the less-brilliant aspects a bit trickier to unearth. When Cam Kirby handed the CX-30 over to me, he wasn’t particularly impressed with the fuel figures he’d seen. That was surprising, as Mazda has long campaigned on the fact that a decently sized atmo engine will tend to return better fuel figures in the real…

REPORT EXIT SIX GENESIS G70 ULTIMATE SPORT Price as tested: $79,950 This month: 1345km @ 11.4L/100km Overall: 4756km @ 11.7L/100km MY LOCAL barista Ricky rates himself as a bit of a car guy, and relishes the fact that his cafe’s service window faces out onto a quiet street that sees a diverse and often interesting range of metal pulling up as owners arrive for their fix. “So what’s Genius like, then?” he asked a while ago as he brewed my double shot. We had a slightly awkward moment as I had to point out that it’s Genesis, and explain that the G70 is part of Hyundai’s premium brand. I also had to add that if it had been called a Genius, that would have been stretching the truth just a…

HOLDEN IS GONE but its parent, General Motors, will live on in Australia. In a deal that could be announced by the time you are reading this, the Walkinshaw Group is expected to represent GM in Australia. The plan was flagged when the axing of Holden was announced on February 17, with references made to GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) in a media release and a press conference. “Although it’s not firmed up formally, our intent and desire is to stay in the market, albeit in a different format and a different model with the GM Specialty Vehicles,” GM International Operations Senior Vice-President Julian Blissett told the media. While the Walkinshaw Group wasn’t named specifically, the company itself and the family it’s named after have deep ties to both Holden and…

FIVE IS THE new three when it comes to new-car warranties in Australia. It was a change that seemingly happened overnight, with almost every mainstream brand in the country making the switch last year. But there were some holdouts – mainly premium brands – who held on to the three-year warranty period. BMW and Audi have remained staunch in the wake of Merc’s announcement Then along came Mercedes-Benz Australia, who made the shock announcement last month that it would switch to a five-year warranty for all its cars, including AMG. While it may seem like the kind of call that can be made with a flick of the pen, an industry insider working for a top-10-selling brand told Wheels the move from three to five years cost the company millions.…

GO AHEAD, TELL US WHAT YOU REALLY THINK 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 I busk at the local market with a sign saying ‘All donations towards my Ferrari’ FERRARI OR BUSK FOR TEEN WHO THINKS BIG I STARTED buying Wheels magazine for my dad’s birthday around three years ago, however, soon my interest for the magazine grew. Buying every month’s magazine is now my greatest interest. I save money for the next month’s wonderful magazine in advance. When I turned 13, my dad bought me a whole year worth of magazines. I read them every day, and…

MAZDA is doing a lot of self-assessment of late. Plugging gaps in its range has almost become a sport for the venerable Japanese marque. The genre-bending CX-30 is one of the latest niche fillers, but the CX-8 really kicked it off in 2018. It’s bigger than a CX-5, but smaller than the COTY-winning CX-9. However, the caveat was a single, diesel-only engine choice. Now Mazda has transplanted its 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine into the CX-8, and as a result, the seven-seat SUV with a tapered roofline now not only offers an alternative to turbodiesel propulsion, it also lowers the cost of admission to less than $40,000. The entry price of $39,910 is for the Sport, one of two petrol variants added to the range in front-drive guise only. The…

ATHICK MOB has formed rapidly, building around a plain white Renault Koleos. It’d be a strange sight if it wasn’t for the fact that a beaming, mile-wide smile is clearly visible in the back seat. The trademark grin of Daniel Ricciardo is unmistakable, and it’s drawing people closer with seemingly magnetic force. The Honey Badger is making a sponsor appearance at a Renault event before the Aussie GP and local fans are desperate to get a glimpse of their hero – it would be one of the only interactions members of the public would have with Ricciardo all weekend. As the affable West Australian saunters with effortless cool into the shade, the excited fans are hot on his heels, held back only by Ricciardo’s entourage of helpers. He begins a…

HAULING OUT the anchors in a straight line should be fairly easy in a modern car; plant your right foot and let the ABS do its thing. But watching our cheapie Hifly try to arrest the pace of a hurtling Tucson was like a dog rushing in for a morning pat on freshly lacquered floorboards. The only vigorous thing was a wagging tail – and plenty of Renato wheelwork to keep things facing forward. And it wasn't even the longest-stopping tyre. “I was about to come in and ask if there were different tyres on either side,” he joked of what was a classic arm-crossing catch. The braking test starts at 110km/h when Renato slams the middle pedal towards the firewall. By the time the Tucson is doing 100km/h the…

THE THREAT of rain during our day of testing turned out to be a blessing in helping keep one section of the road surface consistently damp. Wind and sun are not conducive to a wet track. “Every time I arrived it was exactly the same,” said Renato, praising the water truck that made a sweep minutes before each run. As with the dry, the wet braking runs start at 110km/h so the ABS is pulsing through 100km/h. Data collected by the VBox then gives us a precise stopping distance. Some tyres nearly matched their dry stopping time in the wet – such as the Maxxis and Continental PremiumContact – although we use different parts of the facility for the respective tests, so wet-versusdry comparisons aren’t easy. Best focus on how…

EXCELLING IN one or two disciplines isn’t enough in a tyre test. Consistency is key to keeping our contenders up towards the pointy end of the field. It was that consistency that earned the Continental PremiumContact 6 the top step on the podium. It only led the field in two categories – dry cornering and noise levels – but it finished second (often closely) in the remaining four, giving it a scorching 99.3 percent score, nearly three percent above runner-up Maxxis. It was a tyre that impressed Renato from the first twirl of the wheel. “That felt like the best tyre by some margin … it did everything really well,” he noted. “Super consistent everywhere.” That it sells for $260 a tyre confirms the PremiumContact as premium rubber, albeit one…

Build it and they will copy FRENCH TRAILBLAZER LEFT AN ENDURING LEGACY IN CAR CONSTRUCTION CITROËN HAS A long history of producing cars that were fearlessly innovative and financially irresponsible. First to mind is the achingly gorgeous DS of 1955-’75, but the car that preceded it was, for its time, even more advanced. The Traction Avant of 1934, officially known as the 7CV, 11CV, Light 15 (in Anglophone countries) and Big 15, also drove its manufacturer to bankruptcy and its creator to an early grave. The Traction Avant introduced a number of features that would become commonplace 20 or more years later. However, within months of its 1934 launch, the car maker would surrender to its debtor Michelin, while André Citroën, broke, would die from stomach cancer, aged 57. His…