The BMW Z4 is here, we’ve driven it and we also know how much it costs and what’s in it. Toyota might still be keeping us waiting, but BMW has thrown the kitchen sink at us, with three models and a whopping great list of gear. To go with the price.
Z4 Model Comparison
BMW Australia has kicked us off with three models – the Z4 20i, Z4 30i and Z4 M40i. Based on the 5 Series’ CLAR platform (and shared with Toyota on the Supra), the Z4 is built in Graz, Austria and is available now.
[table id=40 /]
Starting at $84,900 for the 2.0-litre four-cylinder 20i, there is a fairly solid standard equipment list to get you started, which includes the M Sport package as standard. Australians always get it, so BMW thought it may as well just throw it in.
BMW Z4 20i 2019
10.25-inch touchscreenM Sport seatbelts12.3-inch Live CockpitLeather interior (M40i shown)Aluminium trim (20i, 30i, M40i)
B48 2.0-litre twin-scroll turbo four cylinder with 145kW and 320Nm
18-inch alloy wheels 8-speed auto with paddle shift Heated seats with electric adjustment Through-loading system Fake “Sensatec” leather on the dash Dual-zone climate control Cruise control Auto high beam Auto parking with “reverse replay” Head up display 10 speaker stereo with DAB Connected Package Professional (includes Apple CarPlay) M leather steering wheel 10.25-inch BMW Live Cockpit digital dash Wireless charging pad Leather seats (Vernasca) Chinese language display (NCO) – (中文显示，免费) Aluminium trim
BMW Z4 30i 2019
B48 2.0-litre twin-scroll turbo four cylinder with 190kW and 400Nm
Building on the Z4 20i spec, you get:
19-inch alloys with performance tyres Comfort Access with Digital Key smartphone unlocking/locking and start (see below) M Sport brakes Active cruise control with stop and go Adaptive M Suspension Adaptive LED headlights
The Comfort Access system works with either an NFC-enabled credit card-sized card. Unlike Jag’s Activity Key, you don’t have to keep the key in the centre console to activate the feature. If you have a Samsung Android-powered phone, you can use the phone to lock, unlock and start the car, which is rather clever. You can’t do it with iPhone (yet) because Apple refuses to open up the NFC chip.
BMW Z4 M40i 2019
Again, the M40i builds on the models below. The highlight is, of course, the engine…
B58 3.0-litre twin-scroll straight six with 250kW and 500Nm.
Tyre pressure indicator M seat belts M Sport differential Lumbar support for driver and passenger Ambient lighting 12-speaker harmon kardon stereo
Z4 M Sport Plus Package
19-inch M wheelsBMW Z4 2019 roll barsSharknose grille
The Z4’s M Sport Plus package adds a swag of gear depending on the model you apply it to.
20i: $3500 30i: $2600 M40i: $2100
The list includes:
Tyre pressure indicator (20i, 30i) M Seat belts (20i, 30i) 19-inch M Light alloy wheels (20i) M Sport brakes (20i) Adaptive M Suspension (20i) M Sport differential (30i) Metallic paint (M40i)
Comfort Package (20i only)
Available only on the 20i, this $1800 pack includes Comfort Access (keyless entry and start), lumbar support and Active Cruise.
Precision Package
20i: $2600 30i: $2400
Ambient light harman kardon Surround system Adaptive LED headlights (20i) Metallic paint (30i)
BMW Z4 2019 Engine Specifications
All Z4s currently come with the eight-speed automatic from ZF so beloved of German brands. And for good reason – it’s excellent.
[table id=42 /]
Z4 Warranty and Servicing
BMW offers a three year/unlimited km warranty which it reckons customers are happy with. Where have I heard that before? (Mazda was saying that three years was fine just weeks before upping to five years).
Like all BMWs, the Z4 is subject to condition-based servicing, so there are no set service intervals as such. You can pre-purchase a few years of servicing in Basic or Plus.
When?
Now. You can buy one now. Go go go. BMW says the waiting list is pretty short for the Z4 and can have you in one reasonably quickly as long as you don’t want some whacky combination of options.
BMW’s long-awaited replacement for the iconic 8 Series of the 1990s has arrived in Australia. Launching with the top-shelf (not including the M8) M850i xDrive, there’s a choice of Coupe and Convertible.
Strap yourselves in folks, it’s not cheap but you get a lot of go for your dough.
[table id=34 /]
What do you get?
Thankfully, a hell of a lot of gear. And chassis technology. In an effort save weight, the Carbon Core from the 7 Series is along for the ride. It’s not a huge amount of carbon fibre, but the transmission tunnel is made of the lightweight and is strong stuff. I don’t think it has saved much weight, but it does improve structural rigidity. The Convertible also has a stronger windscreen frame and a set of rollover bars to help with the loss of the roof.
A stiff structure means the Adaptive M Suspension has a good starting point – the stiffer the shell is, the more scope chassis engineers have. While all four wheels are 20-inches in diameter, the front tyres are 245/35s and 275/30s on the rear. All-wheel steer is along for the ride, which should make things interesting.
Suspension is by double wishbones up front active anti-roll. BMW says the setup is designed to separate the steering and damping forces and there are torsion struts to “more directly link the suspension to the 8 Series bodywork.
The five-link rear has bi-elastic mountings (answers on a postcard, please) and a load-bearing strut for further rigidity and response.
Front brakes are M Performance aluminium four-piston fixed calipers and the rears a single piston floating caliper. The discs are a massive 395mm and made of steel.
The package also includes all-wheel steer, BMW’s new 12.3-inch Live Cockpit Professional, a new and bigger head up display and a 10.25-inch iDrive screen running BMW Operating System 7.0.
The Coupe also scores gesture control which is never not hilarious when you’re watching someone trying to get it working. Another funky feature is either an NFC card for iPhone users and Android phones can unlock the car.
The car also comes with a mix of subscription services – Apple CarPlay and real-time traffic info and concierge services.
Other tech highlights include the amazing Laserlights that can basically illuminate the moon and a carbon fibre roof (you can have a painted aluminium one as a no-cost option).
M850i Engine and Transmission
As the 50 bit suggests, there’s a ton of grunt under the bonnet from BMW’s twin-turbo V8. Sound familiar? Well, it should, it’s in the M5, X5 M and X6 M. Under the M850i you’ve got 390kW and a massive 750Nm.
As we found out in the M5, there’s probably more. A fair bit more.
The Coupe cracks the sprint to 100km/h (62mph) in 3.7 seconds (the drop-top is 0.2 seconds slower).
As in the M5, the eight-speed ZF changes the gears for you and sends the power to all four wheels. As with sister company Rolls Royce, the sat nav looks ahead for you and will tell the transmission to change gear for the next corner.
Between the rear wheels is an M Sport diff and that’s always A Good Thing.
Ever get tired of your 260kW/500Nm mid-sized SUV and want more? Like, a lot more? You probably want a 500-plus horsepower BMW X3 M Competition, then. Or, if you fancy a smaller boot and paying more for the privilege, the X4 M Competition. But you’re going to need almost $160,000.
Before you read on, you can check out my review of X3 M40i to get an idea of how good the M might be.
What is it? What are they?
The X3 M Competition and its coupe-alike X4 sibling are basically the same car. The G1 X3 is going very nicely for BMW, thanks very much, so one performance version wasn’t enough. There’s actually already two, but we don’t get the M40d here.
Well, technically there’s now four, but we don’t get either the M40d or X3/X4 M. We only get the Competition version because we’re speed snobs. Which is no bad thing.
There’s a suitably amped-up interior, with BMW’s front seat renaissance continuing. You can choose the ever-so posh Merino leather or a Merino and Alcantara combination.
You get a ton of gear for your money, with adaptive LED headlights, heaps of safety equipment, 16-speaker sound system, huge sunroof (…why?) but for some reason you have to pay over $600 for Apple CarPlay.
Drivetrain
As you are no doubt aware, the X3 M40i’s bonnet hides a B58 straight-six twin-scroll turbo. The X3 M, as is only right and proper, runs the S58.
Packing two single-scroll turbos, one looks after cylinders one to three, the other four to six. The upgrades mean the X3 M has a tarmac-ripping 375kW (510PS) and a huge 600Nm. It’s probably more than both of those figures, but that’s what BMW is telling us. Oh, and it redlines at 7200rpm and peak torque is available from 2600-5950rpm.
The S58 has a new cooling system, with one big radiator and two smaller wing-men behind the chunky new bumper arrangement. Along with a transmission oil cooler, there’s a fair bit going on to cope with the inevitable hammering. Quad exhausts hopefully deliver more of a racket than the M40i’s.
BMW reckons the X3 M was honed at the track so the sump is split into compartments with a trick pump that goes looking for the oil when it needs it. The crank is forged to save weight.
BMW’s x-Drive all-wheel drive system makes another appearance and is rear-biased. Also returning is the near-ubiquitous eight-speed ZF automatic.
Want to know how fast it is? 0-100km/h (0-62mph) is over in just 4.1 seconds. That’s, uh, pretty quick.
Oh, and BMW 3D prints the cylinder head core. There’s some pub trivia for you.
Chassis
The xDrive system runs in rear-wheel drive mode until conditions – including how hard you punch the throttle – send some of the power to the front wheels via a multi-plate clutch pack in the central transfer case.
Drive modes include 4WD and 4WD Sport – M wasn’t game enough go with the RWD option in the M5.
They did, however, spend some time stiffening the shell, with a strut brace at the front and two A-shaped arms at the firewall. Longitudinal ties run down the car for yet more rigidity and there’s another lateral arm at the rear.
The suspension is beefed up with plenty of changes including stronger thrust arms, new anti-roll bar settings and adaptive damping.
Braking is by steel rotors with aluminium chambers. The drilled front discs are a massive 395mm gripped by four-pot calipers while the rears are single piston units on 370mm discs. Front rubber measures 255/40 and the rear 265/40 on 21-inch alloys.
How much and when?
The X3 M will cost $157,900 plus on-roads and the X4 M $164,900 plus the rest. You should be able to get it in the third quarter of 2019. Dealers will probably take your money right now.
Australia’s new most-expensive mid-size ute will arrive in July, with the X350d-based X-Class Edition 1 checking in at a whopping $87,500 plus on-road costs.
That price point pits the vehicle well above current performance ute flagships including Volkswagen’s Amarok TDI580 Ultimate ($72,790), and Ford’s Ranger Raptor ($75,390).
As its name suggests, the Edition 1 will be built in limited numbers. Mercedes-Benz Vans has yet to disclose just how many units have been allocated locally.
What’s new?
The Edition 1 does not benefit from performance enhancements, but rather a unique range of cosmetic features to distinguish it from the X350d Power upon which it is based.
Three exterior colours are on offer – Kabara Black, Bering White and Rock Grey – which all sport blacked-out touches including a twin-louvre grille, front and rear bumper-bars, fog light surrounds, door handles, badges, roof rails and 19-inch twin-spoke alloys.
Bespoke exterior striping extends along the bonnet, side mirrors, skirts, tailgate and badge surrounds, which appear in high-gloss grey for the Kabara Black units, or matte black on the rest of the colour range.
Equipment-wise, the Edition 1 gains a black styling bar and tubed side steps, as well as a bedliner and hard tonneau cover.
Inside, the ute boasts specially embroidered floor mats and a chrome “Edition 1” badge on the dash.
Drivetrain
The German pick-up retains its 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel motor, matched with a permanent all-wheel-drive system, and outputting 190kW and 550Nm.
With no mechanical upgrades, the Edition 1 carries over a seven-speed automatic transmission, a low-range transfer case and a rear differential lock.
PRICING
Although the four-cylinder Mercedes-Benz X-Class has been offered in Australia since April 2018, V6-powered variants have only been available since February of this year.
The full-time X350d line-up includes two grades, Progressive and Power, which are priced at $73,270 and $79,415, respectively.
The range-topping Edition 1 will be imported in Power form and upgraded locally, before going on sale in July at $87,500.
Aston Martin has officially revealed its new-generation Vantage AMR, adding a first-of-its-kind manual gearbox option to the V8-powered supercar.
Just 200 units will be produced worldwide, with first deliveries earmarked for the fourth quarter of this year, and with pricing starting at £149,995 in its home market, the UK.
What is it?
Matched with the Mercedes-AMG 4.0-litre bent eight, the new seven-speed shifter follows Aston Martin Lagonda president Andy Palmer’s vow to include manual options in the brand’s range.
“When I joined this company, customers asked and, as a gearbox engineer and racer, I promised that we would always offer a manual transmission in our line-up,” he said.
“The Vantage AMR not only honours that commitment but sets us apart from our competitors in continuing to offer a three-pedal option.
“In a world of autonomous robo-taxis, Aston Martin will continue to advance the art and science of performance driving. With the Vantage AMR, we have created a thoroughly modern sports car that rewards effort and focus from the driver; the antidote to driving a computer game.
Drivetrain
With 375kW (510PS) and 625Nm on tap, the V8-powered Brit will sprint from zero to 100km/h in a hair under four seconds, for an estimated top speed of 313km/h.
Developed by Italy’s Dana Graziano, the new seven-speed box features ‘AMSHIFT’ – a selectable mode which uses clutch, gear position and prop shaft sensors to mimic the technique of heel-and-toe downshifts and allow for full-throttle upshifts.
Don’t fret, purists, you can switch it off for that heroic feeling.
Now standard is carbon ceramic brakes which have helped to remove 95kg of weight compared to the car’s predecessor, and a new adaptive damping system can be tuned via three driving modes – Sport, Sport + and Track.
The Vantage AMR will come in four colours including Sabiro Blue, Onyx Black, China Grey and White Stone, however, the final 59 units will be clad in a special paint scheme to celebrate the 60thanniversary of Aston Martin’s victory at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Pricing
As well as all the aforementioned goodness, Aston has dreamt up five specifications including a limit of 59 of the “Vantage 59” livery.
Aston Martin Australia is yet to announce pricing and availability.
Everybody has heard about the Kia Stinger. Just about everybody is wrong about it, though.
Why are they wrong? They reckon it came out of the blue. It didn’t. We got flashes of what Kia could do long ago in the form of stupidly-named Pro’ceed GT, a much-lauded bargain performance hatchback. Nobody bought it because people are idiots, but it was the warning shot.
I’m not sure how or why the Stinger came about. I have no idea how it got signed off given the ongoing slaughter of the sedan market. But, like many cars that don’t appear to make sense, I don’t care. The Stinger arrived in “normal” – albeit rear-wheel drive – forms and along with it came this – the Kia Stinger GT.
It was one of the most hyped cars on the planet in 2017. The official reason for me waiting this long is to let the hype die down. The actual reason is that I only just managed to get my hands on one.
Words: Peter Anderson Images: Matthew “better than Peter’s iPhone” Hatton
Look and feel
KIA GT4 Stinger Concept
KIA GT4 Stinger Concept
About ten years ago, Kia had an epiphany. You can sell good, solid cheap cars (itself an achievement) and lots of them. You can slap a good warranty and after-sales package on them and sell a few more, creating a sense of confidence in your brand from prospective customers.
But you can sell a lot more of them if they don’t look like complete duffers. So they started listening very carefully to what ex-Audi design chief Peter Schreyer had been saying for a while – make people recognise Kias.
So after ten years of doing that with front-wheel drive sedans and hatchbacks and a range of SUVs, Kia tackled a shrinking market – rear-wheel drive sedans. I mean, why not?
The Stinger story started five years ago in 2014. The GT4 Stinger popped up at the 2014 Detroit Show and we all went wild. Then it all went quiet, because Kia said they wouldn’t build it, the sly dogs.
Cars like this need a very different approach – you can have a lower bonnet, you can lengthen it and you’ll find many rear-wheel drive cars with sporting pretensions have big thick haunches to remind you it’s RWD.
It’s all here on the Stinger and it looks tremendous. Of course, the GT has a set of huge wheels, that continuation of the rear lights that cuts into the rear guards and an aggro front bumpers. The side profile is properly sporty and has absolutely separated the Stinger from the Kia brand – you say Stinger, people know it’s a Kia.
The interior is less adventurous, but boy is it good. Apart from the boring steering wheel, it’s got its own feel. The seats are fantastic (if a bit wide for me) and the penalty for the sleek roofline is paid here in the front seat. Even with the seat wound all the way down, the standard (in Australia) sunroof cuts into headroom. I hate sunroofs and I’m not even particularly tall.
Anyway. It looks great inside and out. No complaints.
Driveline
Motivation comes from Kia’s Lambda II 3.3-litre twin turbo V6, spinning up 272kW (370PS) and 510Nm. That’s an amazing amount of power and comfortably the most powerful engine in the current Kia range. The only thing more powerful in the Hyundai-Kia firmament is the 5.0-litre V8, but only a few cars in the US and Korea gets that engine.
Hyundai and Kia make pretty much everything in their cars, and that includes the eight-speed transmission that sends the power to the rear wheels.
You can cover the benchmark 0-100km/h (0-62mph) time in 4.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 270km/h (167mph).
Chassis
The V6 captures plenty of the attention, but this car really does have the full package. A proper mechanical limited-slip differential looks after the fun end of the transmission, promising plenty of fun.
The front brakes – with four-piston Brembo calipers, no less – are a whopping 340mm while the twin-piston rears grab 250mm discs.
Kia, predictably, spent a lot of time at the Nurburgring, honing the MacPherson strut front and and five-link rear. The GT has those big struts you can see in the photo above, as well as beefed-up anti-roll bars.
Rolling on 19-inch alloys, the front tyres are 225/40 up front and 255/30 at the rear and they’re from Continental.
Driving
There was something bugging me about the Stinger. Not in a bad way – you probably already know that it’s a very good car. It’s heavy, and you can never get away from that feeling. The way it stops, turns and goes was awfully familiar.
In another way, the way you get in and get comfortable was very familiar and it dawned on me far more quickly – this car feels like Audi’s previous generation A7. You step down, duck under the roof rail and settle in snugly. It’s a good feeling and an important one. Nobody thinks twice about dropping $120,000 on an Audi but plenty will baulk at $60,000 for a Kia. They shouldn’t, and this feeling proves it.
It’s not like the Audi, it just feels like it. I like that.
My wife returned from a drive in it – nothing special, just running around for her day – and she reckoned she had found what had been gnawing at us both. This car feels a lot like her old BMW E90 330d M Sport. Fast, torquey, predictable and, in her words, “Stuck to the road.”
That’s high praise. The E90 was a terrific car, the 330d was fast but kept to itself.
The key to the Stinger is the way it grips and goes. That limited slip diff means you can really hoot into a corner, the rear staying nice and stable. Power out with the traction on is also very stable, but the traction control is a bit of a killjoy. A bit more play in the tail would be most welcome.
The day I really got stuck in to the GT was a bit damp after a lot of rain the previous day, and it coped admirably. Despite carrying a ton of speed into the corners, the fronts would hang on gamely, chirping slightly under heavy braking.
With the drive mode select turned up to Sport, the dampers were firm but compliant, keeping the tubby Stinger on the straight and narrow without upsetting its balance.
And one of the best things about the car is that as a daily, it’s superb. Calm, composed and muscular, it gets on with the boring stuff without demanding anything of you.
Redline Recommendation
The Stinger is a great car. It really is. But it’s a GT car. Don’t buy it thinking it’ll be a hoot on a track day, it’s really more about a good winding road rather than chasing tenths. It will be wonderfully lairy with the traction switched off – there are plenty of flattened fences that will attest to that – and you’ll have a ball.
But as a road car, this is a gutsy, bold move from Kia. It’s the top of their current GT range (Picanto and Cerato reviews will be along shortly) and it’s worth every single penny.
It’s too big, blah, blah, blah. Minis are supposed to small blah blah blah. The Cooper S is nothing like the original.
All of these things are true or based in truth. The new Mini is big car, monstering our Volkswagen up! and the Suzuki Swift Sport we had a few weeks ago. It’s also nothing like the original which is a great thing – having an accident in a Mini now is much safer, even when you take into account over five decades of safety innovation. Crashing a new Mini is not the death sentence of an old one, a car that survived into the 1990s.
The third generation New Mini, know as the F55, has been around since 2014, which comes as somewhat of a shock to me. It is kind of hard to tell things are changing because the three generations of BMW-owned Mini look so similar.
As it has been around for a while, it’s time for a freshen-up which has meant a new interior, a few fix-ups and a general tweaking to make things a bit faster and, hopefully, more fun.
Look and Feel
As you can see, it’s…quite familiar. The facelift meant a few things, but the most obvious are those Union Jack taillights. I got into trouble on Instagram when I took a photo of them and said they were naff. Torrents of mild and amusing abuse followed and for once, people weren’t laying into the Mini’s funky looks.
I quite like the wheels on this Cooper S. I reckon they look really cool and reinvent the Minilites a little bit. The self-conscious retro-ism of the old wheels was getting annoying. This BRG-style colour is pretty much perfect and goes with those rear lights.
The centrally-mounted twin exhausts look stupid, though – tiny pea-shooters.
Drivetrain
Looks like a fish with the bonnet up…Seven-speed twin-clutch
The Cooper S still has the 2.0-litre modular four-cylinder turbo, one-upping the three-cylinder turbo of the standard Cooper. Codenamed B48, it’s scattered through the BMW range as well in various states of tune.
Here in the Cooper S you have 141kW (PS) and a very handy 280Nm. That’s good for a half-decent 0-100km/h (0-62mph) time of 6.8 seconds, which will slay things like the Fiesta ST. As it should given how much more it costs.
The front wheels get their power from a seven-speed twin-clutch or, as you’re more likely to choose, a six-speed manual. Most buyers choose the seven-speed, which is why I drove that one.
Chassis
The Cooper S rolls on those very handsome 17-inch alloys wrapped in 205/45 Michelin Primacy tyres.
Obviously, the S is a bit lower and stiffer than the standard Cooper, but not by much. It also scores adaptive suspension, which is quite impressive in a car this small and goes some way to justifying its higher pricing. Here in Australia, the Mini Cooper S costs the same as a Golf GTI or Hyundai i30 N.
Driving
Minis are great. They’ve got this little bounce in their roll, the way they get about is cheerful and fun. I’m quite happy in a 1.5-litre base model, particularly if it’s a manual, because it’s a great car to get around in.
I love the driving position. Low and with those massive side windows, the pushed-forward A-pillars widen your field-of-view. You can see where the front wheels are going to go and the view ahead is not the postbox slot of a racy front windscreen.
The current Mini is the basis of a whole new run of BMWs and, obviously Minis. With the recent Life Cycle Impulse (LCI) update, the Mini seems to have calmed slightly. I can speculate as to why – with more money being spent on the UKL2 platform and with Mini’s burgeoning range and BMW’s move to a transverse-engined architecture, lots of cash has gone to making it ride well.
As I’ve already said, I liked the way the Mini bounced around. My wife, however, did not. She really hated what we came to call “the Mini bounce” (super-creative, I know) and felt that the car wasn’t tied down.
The 2019 Mini Cooper S feels much more tied down than before. Firing through the bends – tight or long – the front end sticks and digs in as you lean on it. But now, it feels more like it’s holding the road rather than riding over it a bit. It’s a great feeling and helps you push on.
And that’s a good thing. It still feels like a Mini – short wheelbase, pointy front end and in the S, lots of power. The seven-speed twin clutch is deceptively good – I had to check it wasn’t the ZF auto. Fast, positive shifts, no dithering like the old one and no lurching in reverse. It’s clever and lets you get on with the job of going fast.
And again, you can go fast because while the chassis is a little more settled, the brakes are always there for you. Great pedal feel means you can hammer them has you hook the car into the turn and have the confidence that you’re going to get the stopping performance you need.
Redline Recommendation
The Mini has always been fun. And this Cooper S is a blast. I had the JCW Millbrook a few weeks after the Mini and thought that in some ways (apart from cost) the Cooper S is really close. Yeah, it doesn’t have the huge power, adaptive damping and LSD but it’s got all the things that make a Mini good.
And that’s one of the reasons I like the Mini – they’re fun to drive, even a Countryman is good fun. The Cooper S might just be the sweet spot.
The fourth generation Focus has delivered more refinement and maturity to its long-standing hatch line-up. Is the new ST-Line the wolf-in-sheep’s clothing that fills the same void as its predecessors?
As somewhat of a pioneer in the hatch segment, Ford has taken a fairly drastic and simplistic approach with the latest ST-Line and Focus lineup in general.
As rival manufacturers go for more visible tech, resulting in busy interiors whose styling cues carry to the exterior, Ford has dialled it down from 11 to a much more civilised five or six with this model.
With the warm hatch segment quickly becoming an important part of many manufacturers offering, will the ST-Line be able to deliver the goods to pull back some loyalty?
Words: Brendan Allen Images: Suppled by Ford Australia
Look and Feel
The first thing you’ll notice is how the ST-Line tends to look a bit more… generic. But not in a bad way. If you ask me, the thing that has always put me off the more recent Focus range, is the slightly high and narrow design, both inside and out.
Similar to previous models, the new Focus ST-Line likes to make fairly bold choices when it comes to styling around the doors as well at the front and rear guards. However, the designers this time around seem to have managed to pull off a more aggressive, yet subdued look.
I feel there has been some inspiration taken from the likes of Renault and Mercedes with their Clio and new A-Class respectively, resulting in more sculpted body lines and less reliance on contrasting angles.
This styling approach is common across the whole Focus range, not just the ST-Line, but a bold colour choice (Ruby Red looks quite delicious) combined with the rather flattering 17-inch alloys in a dark shade, makes even Ford’s entry level ST-Line turn the occasional head in traffic.
The interior is a massive step up for Ford. Previously, the Focus range was a love/hate situation for many new car buyers, but the name of the game in 2019 is minimalism. A more traditional centre console is teamed up with a dial-style gear selector and aesthetically pleasing steering wheel to provide a familiar and confident cockpit for both day to day use as well as the occasional spirited run.
The controls are very intuitive, taking only a few minutes to master the audio and sat nav system, which as expected, is now planted squarely atop the dashboard. SYNC3 also has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The seats provide more than enough comfort and support for a car that gets up and boogies when you need it to and the interior in general has a very nice ambience with enough personalisation options to make it not feel like a rental car.
Possibly the most impressive aspect of the ST-Line is the sheer amount of standard features available. From simple things like Apple CarPlay and wireless charging through to a plethora of driver assist features such as adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist.
One thing I love is the fact that there’s a slot right below the gear selector to put your parking ticket when you head to Woolies to do the weekly shop. It’s the little things.
Drivetrain
The 1.5 Litre Eco-Boost is given great reviews the world over and I can see why. It feels like the new ST-Line was built around this engine, because it’s such an impressive overall package.
The response is truly amazing and if you remember that this is essentially a glorified grocery-getter, you’ve actually got a very capable hatch not only around town, but can easily provide enough thrills on a country B-road for the average spirited driver.
The 1.5 Eco-Boost spits out a decent 134kW (182PS) at 6000rpm and the 8-speed auto box and steering wheel-mounted paddles have won me over to the point where I don’t have a problem with there being no manual option. Don’t tell anyone I said that, though.
The turbo triple’s willingness is helped along by the fact it spins up a very tasty 240Nm.
Chassis
The chassis provides a lot of confidence. This model comes with a decent amount of tyre for a change (215/50 R17) which I think helps a lot with cornering performance as well as comfort. Personally, the current trend of 18 inch wheels with Liquorice for tyres doesn’t really do it for me.
There is definitely a limit to the grip which is to be expected as the ST-Line shares a lot in common with the base Trend hatch, but again, as a filler between the base offering and the upcoming ST (2020), the ST-Line does an amazing job of doing exactly what it says on the tin.
It will be interesting to get behind the wheel of the ST upon its release next year and see what Ford can do with the new chassis, but until then I’d be more than happy carving up the Woolies carpark in the ST-Line.
Driving
If you hadn’t already noticed, I’m a fan of the ST-Line as an overall package.
It seems the symphony of responsiveness, feedback and standard equipment makes the ST-Line an absolute no-brainer for anyone in the market for a little bit “more” than your typical generic hatch.
Ford uses the tagline “Move like you mean it” and I think it sums up the ST-Line experience rather well, as the car feels like it’s ready to pounce at any moment. Be it the little squirt to get through that amber light, or the full throttle approach when joining the freeway.
The steering feedback combined with a surprisingly quick paddle shift setup continues the aggressive driving dynamic as you begin to push the ST-Line through the corners.
Redline Recommendation
Ford has delivered by providing a premium offering at a bargain price and this trend carries through to the way the car rides. It might have a lot to do with the sensible 17 inch standard wheel size, but you can tell a lot of effort has gone into the whole package to deliver a truly dynamic experience behind the wheel.
At a starting price of $25,990, it definitely feels like a premium ride inside and out and the price seems to undercut a lot of European competitors with similar spec.
Time will tell if Ford can claw back some of the market they used to dominate, and perhaps they are relying on the upcoming ST to provide the spark they need to really drive the whole range home.
For now, sensible buyers would be insane to not include the ST-Line on their shopping list.
Like what you read? But you want a wagon? Read Peter’s review here.
The BMW M5 is one of those cars with a fierce fan following. Since the internet declared the E39 “seminal”, everything M does is wrong. V10? Wrong. SMG? Wrong (okay, it sort of was, but stay with me). Turbo? Wrong. Cardinal sin, in fact. M-DCT? Completely wrong. It seemed the only thing fans didn’t cry foul over was the fact it had a differential of some sort. And always had the right number of wheels.
Here’s the real deal – every M5 has been demonstrably better than the one before. The E39 was good but the E60 V10 was better. The F10 had the twin-turbo V8 that is now the core of BMW’s larger-car M line-up and was better than the E60. Objectively speaking.
Now, I’m not pretending the E60 or F10 didn’t have flaws. The E60 had an expensive habit of exploding bearings and SMG pump failures. It was a hard drinker, getting no better than 20L/100km when driven gently.
The F10 was fast but a bit serious and didn’t sound very good, even with that spectacular V8 twin-turbo.
The G90 has that double-huffer V8 and adds two new things to yet again ruin the M5 – all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission.
It’s going to suck hard, obviously.
Look and Feel
As is tradition, the M5 is a low-key looker. You can’t expect to sell a lot of executive sedans if you make them wild and wacky looking. They won’t get sign-off from the board and neither from a largely conservative customer base. The only ever-so-slightly adventurous M5 was the E60, but by the standards of Bangle BMW, it was fairly strait-laced.
It’s elegant. It’s classy. And it’s not all that interesting. You can tell it’s an M5 by the subtle badging, M badges here and there, big wheel and tyre package and the blade on the front quarter panels. I think it’s handsome but it would be nice if it was a bit more fun to look at.
The cabin, like the X3’s, is one of the last of the line for a design stretching way back into the mid-2000s. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just generic BMW, sized up and down depending on the car. It does feature the new M-shifter (the old teardrop one was a bit horrible) and the aluminium trim looks the business. If you get wood in an M5, I’m not sure if we could be friends.
The front seats, though, are brilliant to look at and even better to sit in.
Drivetrain
As with the previous car, the G20’s power unit is the 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 codenamed S63B44T4. As you can guess from the name, it’s an evolution of the decade-old N63. The earlier S63B44T0 was in the F10 M5.
It’s a brilliant engine. Torquey from low down and with little lag, it revs madly and loves chasing the 7200rpm redline. In the basic M5 it delivers 441kW (600PS) and 750Nm. Although it’s probably unlikely the power figure is accurate. A few people have thrown an F90 on the dyno and found 460kW (625PS) at the wheels. Which means the flywheel figure is probably closer to 515kW (700PS). That’s a truckload of grunt and BMW says it arrives at 5600rpm and hangs around until 6700rpm.
Which explains two things. First, the torque figure is likely higher than quoted which led M to the ZF eight-speed auto. That box cheerfully manages 900Nm-plus in the Audi SQ7. I reckon the M-DCT is pretty much dead now, given how good it is compared to the M-DCT.
It also explains the move to all-wheel drive. Sticking with rear-wheel drive is to run down a dead-end. Not technologically – obviously – but to make this a mild-mannered road car that could cope with the rigours of the streets, snowy Alpine passes and whatever else owners could throw at it while also sprinting to 100km/h in a claimed 3.2 seconds (Car and Driver extracted 2.8 seconds), all-wheel drive had to happen.
But. M engineers are rock apes with PhDs. So there’s a button you can press to turn off the front wheels. Uh-huh.
The B44T4 update to the S63 includes beefed-up cooling (including a separate oil cooler), higher injection pressure, new turbos and a lighter, louder exhaust.
It also has a lithium-ion battery in the boot. True story.
Chassis
You get your drive in three modes – 4WD, 4WD Sport and 2WD. This bit sort of belongs in the Driveline section, but you change it via the usual M button.
4WD and 4WD Sport are largely self-explanatory. The standard, default mode is for everyday and if you share the car with someone who isn’t into tyre-shredding shenanigans. 4WD Sport makes things a little more fun.
Actually, a lot more fun. While the old M5 was a bit buttoned-down (until you turned off DSC, then woah, Nelly), the M5 in 4WD Sport is a hoot. This mode lets you get a bit wriggly and a bit silly and really enjoy yourself a bit.
Drop into 2WD mode and you realise M’s return to having a sense of humour is complete. I’ve said this a fair bit over the last couple of years – the M4 CS and M2 Competition are delightfully silly. The M2 was the first car in a while where I remember thinking, “This feels like the last fun M cars, the E60 M5 and the E92 M3 coupe.” That’s how dull my inner-monologue is.
Front suspension comes courtesy of double wishbones and the rear is a five-link setup. Variable dampers are obviously standard and hooked up to the drive select modes – ECO PRO (ha!), Comfort, Sport and Sport +.
The brakes are giant, with drilled discs and six piston floating calipers up front and single piston floating calipers at the rear.
Here’s some bad news – the M5 weighs 1855kg. That’s pretty heavy, I think you’ll agree.
Driving
You’ve probably twigged that the headline was a bit of clickbait. This car is brilliant. Pootling about, anyone can drive it. It’s simple, straightforward and feels like a specced-up 530i, just with a bit of a hair trigger throttle. The reason it weighs two tonnes with you and a friend on board is because it’s full of stuff.
The F90 is plenty of fun around town, too. ECO PRO is the usual softly-softly mess but if you flatten the throttle, all of the power arrives and will sling you into traffic. The front wheels don’t feel at all connected to the driveline and that is superb. Torque steer is horrible and saps confidence.
You could own this car and never shift out of Comfort/4WD. It’s still colossally capable. It has a massive a boot and will take a family comfortably. On the way to school it will inhale hatchbacks, dodge idiots in their SUVs and trucks and you’ll do it in impressive, imperious comfort.
Light the fuse with Sport or Sport + though, and you get the grinning loon in the video above.
It hasn’t gone wrong. The BMW M5 is the most complete car ever made.
The 2019 BMW 3 Series is the seventh-generation of what is now a mid-sized sedan. I say mid-size but the 3 is now 76mm longer at 4.7 metres. BMW Australia has launched the new 3 Series era with two specifications packed with tons of new tech and updated engines.
Codenamed G20 for the BMW numbers fans, it’s a hugely important car for the brand. While the 1 Series is cheaper, the 3 will be the smallest rear-wheel drive passenger car after the demise of the current entry-level BMW and its switch to the UKL2 front-wheel drive platform.
Well, that’s why it’s important for car people. Despite the hugely successful SUV range, people still see the 3 as the BMW.
[table id=30 /]
Look and Feel
The new car’s profile is quite similar to the old one’s, with a longer look because it’s, er, longer. Move around to the front and BMW’s ongoing kidney grille futzing has produced a one piece unit. The new lights are a gentle evolution of not just the old 3’s, but the general BMW sedan vibe. Nope, it’s not adventurous but a mainline model like the 3 can’t be a whacky funster.
This car strikes me as a little more elegant than the machine it replaces, at least in profile. I’m still not sure about the front end, but I do like the new air curtains at each side of the front bumper. I don’t really like the way the bumper cuts into the lights, but I have not seen the car in the flesh – yet. Those new headlights with the big notch are Adaptive LEDs with auto high beam.
I’m very much on board with the rear end. The lights look terrific and the whole approach makes the 3 look bigger and more expensive. I like the latest version of the hockey stick in the lights and it really works, very distinctive.
Inside is a big jump from the old car. The previous design was very familiar from well over a decade of evolution from the E9x. The iterative design was good, very functional, but Mercedes and Audi had passed it by in various other models.
In these launch cars you get the new 12.3-inch digital dash already in the X5 and it’s a doozy. BMW has taken its own path for its look and I like it. A lot. You’re going to see a lot more of it and BMWs in the coming years. BMW calls the dash Live Cockpit Professional and Bavaria has finally broken and made the media screen a touchscreen.
Paired with that screen is the new iDrive screen which in these cars is set at 10.25-inch, which is a monster. BMW’s Operating System 7.0 makes its debut in the 3 Series, with the usual iDrive controller on the console but now with natural language support and Intelligent Personal Assistant (“Hey, BMW, I’m hungry! Hey, BMW, take me home! Hey BMW, teach me some manners!).
And it has wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless charging, which is brilliant.
Both cars also get a new head-up display which BMW says is 70 percent larger.
BMW reckons the interior materials are significantly better than before, which is a direct response to criticisms about the older car. It never felt cheap, but the A4 and C felt more expensive (to be fair, the latter is a lot more expensive).
It’s also quite a bit bigger inside – the wheelbase has stretched by 41mm and the car is 16mm wider. A longer wheelbase means a bigger cabin, with the boot staying the same at a suspicious 480 litres (C and A4 are identical, so it could be bigger).
BMW 320d 2019 – $67,900 + ORC
The entry-level 3 Series (for the moment at least) is the 140kW 320d.
The basic car comes standard with the M Sport package but you can choose the Luxury Line option at no extra cost.
M Sport versions have black exterior trim bits, M aero package, 18-inch M light alloy wheels, interior headliner in anthracite, M leather steering wheel, aluminium interior trim pieces, fake leather (Sensatec) and Alcantara upholstery.
Luxury Line means Vernasca leather, ash grey high gloss, sport leather steering wheel, sport front seats and 18-inch alloys.
BMW 330i 2019 – $70,500 + ORC
The 330i builds on the 320d’s spec with 19-inch alloys, M Sport brakes, additional safety features (see below) and keyless entry and start.
You also get a suspension upgrade to Adaptive M Dynamics adaptive dampers.
It’s quite a lot of stuff for the extra $2600.
Packages
Because they all come with M Sport (unless you buck the trend and go for the Luxury Line), there’s an M Sport Plus package for $2990 (320d) or $2600 on the 330i.
This adds M Sport seatbelts and M Rear Spoiler. On the 320d you get the 19-inch alloys already on the 330i while the 330i itself scores a tricky M Sport differential. If you can afford it and don’t tick this box on the 330i, I don’t think we can be friends. I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules.
The Visibility Package adds metallic paint, laser headlights, sunroof and ambient lighting for $5070 (ouch).
The Comfort package puts lumbar support and heating on the front seats, electrifies the boot lid and keyless entry and start on the 320d for $2600. The 330i already has that last bit, so the pack is $1820.
And finally, the $3120 Driver Assistance Package for the 320d adds Parking Assistant Plus, Drive Assistant Professional and Tyre Pressure monitor. Or you can just buy the 330i and be done with it.
Drivetrain
[table id=31 /]
From launch, you’ll have a choice of two. Don’t panic, there are more coming. Looking at these engines, it’s pretty obvious they’re the ones that will give the G20 3 Series a flying sales start. The 330i was far and away the big seller of the preceding generation, with the M Sport pack taking up 75 percent of 330i sales.
The 320d opens the range with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel serving up 140kW and a stonking 400Nm. To clear any confusion, there are two turbos. The first is a small, fixed-vane turbo. This one gets going at low revs while the larger, variable vane turbo spins up. BMW says the larger one is low pressure, so some markets will probably get some gruntier diesels.
You’ll crack the ton in 6.8 seconds and, according to official figures, burn 4.5L/100km on the combined cycle.
The petrol 330i is roughly the same as the outgoing car – a 2.0-litre turbo four with 190kW and 400Nm, which is a cracking figure for a turbo petrol. The 2.0-litre is the modular four used across the BMW and Mini range.
0-100km/h (0-62mph) is a quick 5.8 seconds and BMW reckons you’ll see a fuel economy figure of somewhere around 6.4L/100km. If your mum is driving. Unless your mum drives like I do.
They’re both rear-wheel drive as is only right and proper, with the eight-speed ZF making yet another appearance.
Chassis and Aero
BMW says the new car is up to 55kg lighter than before while body rigidity is up by 25 percent overall and in some areas 50 percent. A tighter shell means better suspension performance, so that’s a good start.
Front and rear tracks are both wider, too – you can really see that when you look at the car front on.
BMW has fitted lift-related damping that is supposed to deliver variable damping depending on spring travel. With a stiffer shell, the 20 percent stiff springs work in concert with damping hydraulics at the front and compression-limiting at the rear.
Step up to the 330i and you get the adaptive dampers, which lowers the car by 10mm and you get drive mode select as a result. You also get M Sport brakes with the blue calipers, with four-pistons up front.
The 330i M Sport Plus Pack get you a electronic limited-slip differential. Get it if you can because an LSD is never not a good idea.
As usual, the 3 Series has a 50:50 weight distribution.
In its slipperiest specification, the 3 has a drag co-efficient of just 0.23 but doesn’t look stupid doing it. Quite impressive.
Safety
The 2019 3 Series has a pretty decent safety stack:
Six airbags Lane departure warning Blind spot monitoring Forward AEB Rear-cross traffic alert Speed limit sign recognition Rear collision prevention
You also get a reversing camera with rear parking sensors. No doubt a five star ANCAP safety rating is on the way.
The 330i picks up these extra features, which are available as the Driving Assistant Professional package on the 320d:
Steering and Lane Control Assistant Emergency Stop Assistant Automatic Speed Limit Assistant Lane keep assist with active side collision protection Front cross traffic warning Evasion aid Crossroads warning with city braking function Wrong way warning.
Redline Recommendation – 3 Series 2019
Oh, this is easy – 330i with M Sport Plus. That might be cracking on to $75,000 but it’s a fast four-door loaded with some cool tech. BMW is keen to sell cars, so twist your dealer’s arm and you’ll get yourself a deal.
Those who have driven the new 3 say it’s a “return to form” as though the old car were somehow fundamentally flawed, so it must be a cracker. We’ll find out soon.
This is just the start. Later in the year we’ll see the 340i M Performance xDrive and then sometime soon – I hope – the new M3/M4 pairing, rumoured to have around 370kW (500PS). Some reports are say we’ll see the M cars at the Frankfurt Show in September.
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
