The Redline

Author: Peter Anderson

  • Mercedes-Benz Driving Events Review

    You know what I always say – don’t track your own car. Instead, you can track, like, twenty of someone else’s, all in one day. Mercedes fan or not, this is a fun day out.

    BMW, Audi, Jaguar all do really fun track days, in various forms and for various reasons. So, obviously, Mercedes does too. The Mercedes-Benz Driving Events days are a new thing to me, but I know plenty of the people involved. You’ll know some of them by name given their presence on Australian race tracks in all manner of things.

    Track days used to be slightly dry affairs, with (understandably) nervous instructors keeping things very tight and, sadly, quite boring. Then it seems the folks who ran these things went to Europe and discovered that, actually, you can have fun without anyone getting into grief. Which suddenly made these days a lot more attractive.

    Mercedes was very keen for everyone to know that the driving events are back after a very long seventeen months on the sidelines. The year 2020 saw no customer track activity and I can tell you right now that the last time the team turned a wheel was at the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour and I was there. They were keen to get cracking.

    What do you get to do?

    As boring as it sounds, the safety demonstration stuff is really good fun. There’s a wet skid-pan with an E-Class idling in wait and an A Class pointing at a gantry with various lights and cones and things scattered around. The idea was to accelerate full throttle at the gantry and you’d get a signal to go left or right to avoid the three cones directly in front of you. While standing on the brakes. It’s an exercise to show you how ABS works and you can still steer even with maximum brake pressure. For some reason I find this hilarious fun.

    The second skid pan activity is rather ingenious. Being a big rear-wheel drive sedan, the E300 is perfect for this dance around the cones. The rear wheels are wrapped in a polyurethane cover that turns most of the tread into, well, a McDonald’s tray.

    You start with the traction and stability controls off and enjoy the ride as the big Merc swings around in the low-grip conditions at barely walking pace. Your instructor chats away about what’s going on and then flicks the switch and a different kind of calm is restored. The E300 switches from ballet to quick step, cheerfully following your instructions or, more to the point, ignoring your heavy right foot and doing what it should, tracking where you point the front not the rears.

    Autonomous braking demo

    Like all car brands, Mercedes struggles to communicate the various cleverness on offer in their cars. Autonomous emergency braking isn’t just about stopping you from ploughing into a car in front but as things get more and advanced, it does other things. Your instructor cheerfully drives you straight at a dummy set up in the middle of the road. While its horrifying face probably deserves a grille in the face, the Merc brakes itself to a halt, leaving it without a scratch.

    Even more amusingly, the vinyl car I spied on my way into the circuit in the morning is attached to a set of wires and a cable. As you drive towards it, the red car (curiously, a Mercedes – I’d be putting a different brand on there)(then again, I’m an idiot) drives across your bows. The car spots it coming and jams on the brakes.

    While I know that’s what these cars do and you know that’s what these cars do, Aunty Gwen doesn’t, so it’s nice to actually experience it safely and get a feel for how it works.

    Try before you buy (another one)

    As you can see from the photos, there are plenty of models for you to choose from. At one point your group will roll into pitlane and your instructor will give you a choice of a choice of two cars and you get three goes at choosing. These are from the ever-expanding range of Mercs, including a surprisingly sprightly A250 plug-in hybrid which acquitted itself well on the track, much to my own surprise. There was an E Cabriolet as well and can I tell you, even with the roof down, shooting the breeze with Cameron Crick was easy with all the wings and nets and whatever else the aero engineers dreamt up. It’s exceedingly clever.

    Then you’ll pop over to the modest off-roader course where the giant GLS will shrug off tall hills in either direction, a decent puddle and all the usual stuff owners of these cars won’t go near. It’s still impressive given it’s on road tyres but also bristling with all the tech to make off-roading super easy, barely an inconvenience. The trek around also demonstrates that the centre diff is smart enough to wind itself off a bit when you’re turning hard and it doesn’t try and crab. And I didn’t even notice that until the instructor pointed it out. He also pointed out that this behemoth was cheaper than what people were paying for a certain V8-powered Japanese competitor that’s about a hundred years old and on the way out the door at insane prices.

    And you can also lap the track in the all-electric EQC, the first of the Merc’s electric onslaught. It’s weird doing 150km/h down the main straight of a racetrack in almost total silence.

    You really wanna go fast, though, right?

    Mercedes doesn’t muck around with the speed part. A fleet of C63Ses, a hugely talented (and even braver) set of instructors take you around the track and apply a bit of spit and polish to your lines, braking and steering. You’re limited to 150km/h on the main straight in this particular version of the day, but that’s fine. You can hear your instructor and you don’t need a helmet, which for my duff hearing is just fine. I’ll also remind you that going flat out down the straight of a racetrack, particularly Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP) or Philip Island. So don’t stress about that.

    Where it’s fun is in the corners. Remember how I told you track days used to be boring? They’re not anymore.

    In the old days, it was all, “Now, now, this isn’t a race.”

    Now you’ve got talented people sharing their talent with you and helping you discover yours. The C63S is an absolute weapon and in race mode you’ll have a blast. SMP is a brilliant track to drive, don’t let anyone tell you any different. The braking and acceleration of the C63 more than keep you awake (I didn’t feel much slower than the day I drove a 992 911 around here). My instructor in the C, Sam Brabham (yes, that Brabham) was tremendously patient and had me up to speed in no time with some little details like when to short shift and when to do counter-intuitive things with apexes because there are so many weird double-apex corners at this track.

    You also get great insight from people who know what they’re doing, comparing the different lines different drivers and even the way drivers modify their lines in different categories. What I wouldn’t do to have even a tenth of their innate talent.

    Then I got to step into the AMG GT R with Chelsea Angelo. Chelsea is just the kind of weapon you want showing you what this thing can do and my goodness it’s fast. The best thing about it is Chelsea knowing exactly what she is doing and getting a very quick gauge on what you can do and making sure you’re punching this thing out of a corner and feeling the thing squirm.

    It’s so much fun, it’s only a pity it was over so quickly.

    How much is it and where is it?

    For half a day’s intense activity, you pay $550, which lines up pretty well with Jag’s day but you drive a lot more stuff and pack a lot more in. And you won’t be bored, hungry or thirsty because you’ll be phenomenally well looked-after by the team.

    In 2021, you’ll have a choice of:

    Sydney Motorsport Park

    Mount Cotton Hillclimb (Queensland)

    Sandown International Motor Raceway (Victoria)

    Mallala Motorsport Park (South Australia)

    Barbagallo Raceway, Wanneroo (Western Australia)

    Bookings through your dealer or, if you’re not that way inclined (or don’t have a Merc, it doesn’t matter) on the website. And you need to have a licence. But that’s it.

  • 2021 Mazda MX-5 RS

    Mazda’s evergreen, ever brilliant roadster scores some chassis tweaks for the old fogeys like me who once owned a 1989 NA Clubman. Oh, probably other people too.

    Mazda’s fourth-generation MX-5, the ND, is such a great car. It brings together all of the good things of every generation, distilling three decades of experience into a single, brilliant package. It even has a nice interior now with the correct number of cupholders. Not six.

    I’ve driven the ND several times and not once have I wondered if it needed any further fettling. Indeed, anyone who buys an MX-5 and dares to touch anything when its intended use is for the roads, they quickly wear my Twitter opprobrium. Don’t they, Harry?

    While I may not think the MX-5 needs anything else, Mazda did. Because in 2018, the company released the RF Limited Edition which had a similar set of hardware changes…

    How much is an MX-5 RS and what do I get?

    Mazda MX-5 GT RS: $47,020 (+ ORC)
    Mazda MX-5 RF GT RS: $ $51,100

    As you can see, the RS is based on the 2.0-litre GT spec, which means it’s very nice inside. You get leather seats, leather shifter and wheel, a decent stereo, air-conditioning and it’s all wrapped up in a nice, cosy package. There’s not much in here because, as you can imagine, that’s not what this car is about.

    Media system

    As part of the 2021 update, you get wireless Apple CarPlay on the 7.0-inch screen, while Android Auto comes through the USB port. There’s not *really* anywhere to put your phone, though, so good luck if you’re an Androider.

    Service and Warranty

    Mazda chucks in a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty with a corresponding period of roadside assist.

    You do have to return your car to Mazda every twelve months or 10,000km which, if your MX-5 is a daily driver, would be annoying. The first five services are capped and you’ll pay $2041 across the five for an average of $408 per year plus any extras like cabin filters and brake fluid, both of which are reasonably priced.

    Safety – 5 Stars (ANCAP, 2016)

    There was a minor uproar when the MX-5 scored five stars in 2016. Not because of its score, mind you, but the fact the Audi TT Roadster didn’t get five stars. ANCAP’s confusing explanation for the TT’s score (no curtain airbags) didn’t make sense when you observe that the MX-5 doesn’t have curtain airbags either. I remain deeply suspicious of ANCAP’s scoring system largely because it is impenetrable to an average car buyer. How does a Mitsubishi Mirage score and maintain a five star rating for eight years? Who can tell. Yes, they’ve changed the rules (the ratings will expire after three years) but how come cars can spec their way into a five star rating yes I’m rambling now, I’ll stop.

    You get four airbags, stability and traction controls, forward AEB, blind-spot monitoring, reverse cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, drive attention detection, reversing camera, reverse AEB and lane departure warning.

    Look and Feel

    The ND MX-5’s tightly drawn styling is by far my favourite of the breed. I mean, the NA and NC are gorgeous too (let’s not talk about the NB) but the ND is such a modern design that will not age. Actually, most Kodo design Mazdas are steadfastly refusing to age, so there’s obviously something about this language that really works.

    The cabin is pretty good, although some of the hard plastics of the NC remain. That kind of makes sense given the cockpit is (and should be) regularly exposed to the elements. The 7.0-inch screen looks a bit dinky these days but any bigger and it would dominate.

    The summary of changes for the RS is very short – black mirror caps, 17-inch forged BBS alloys and red brake calipers. That’s it. This is proper minimalism, folks, and I’m all for it.

    Drivetrain

    Mazda offers two engines in the MX-5, a 1.5-litre and a 2.0-litre. The RS only comes with with the 2.0-litre, which produces 135kW at 7000rpm and 205Nm at 4000rpm. So it’s proper naturally-aspirated unit, which is always nice in a car like this.

    Weighing just 1052kg, those numbers are more than enough to get the roadster moving.

    Chassis

    Most of the main hardware remains the same in the RS, with some key detail changes. The double wishbones at the front and multi-link rear-end stays (which partially explains the tiny boot), with a new set of Bilstein gas dampers swapped for the factory standard.

    You also get a solid alloy strut tower brace to further stiffen the chassis by doing yet more to keep the two sides of the car apart.

    The new front brakes are 280mm Brembo units with four-piston aluminium calipers. There are some dull technical details like the way the discs’ cooling fins are arranged but importantly, they knock off two kilos of unsprung weight.

    Those red calipers peek out from behind the 17-inch BBS forged alloys around which are 205/45 Bridgestone Potenza S001 tyres.

    Fuel Economy – 6.8L/100km

    To get 135kW, you’re gonna need to use 95 RON petrol, but that’s probably not something that bothers an MX-5 owner. I got 8.1L/100km from the MX-5 but, as I imagine you’ve already guessed, I was having an enormous amount of fun.

    Driving

    I don’t mind telling you that driving an MX-5 properly is an emotional experience. Few cars have that driver-road interface nailed down this hard and even the 1.5-litre (my personal favourite before I drove the RS) is a joy. You work hard to keep everything moving, but the controls you are working are easy. Easy clutch, snickety-snick gearshift you can move with the lightest of touches and electric steering that does the job that BMW could only dream of doing. It’s that good. Roof down, hat on, a clear road, there’s almost nothing better than an ND MX-5.

    Maybe a Lotus Elise. But they cost a lot more and don’t have Apple CarPlay.

    Anyway.

    MX-5s not only handle beautifully, they ride well too. Wishbones up front, multi-link at the back and a near obsessive attention to detail means that it’s a car you can drive if you don’t care about cars (hence the RS being manual only…) and love. Or be the exact opposite and find any excuse you can to take that long drive to the country for a particular loaf of bread/bottle of milk/blade of grass.

    So one approaches MX-5s that have been modified with great introspection – the Bilstein are clearly there to reduce pitch and roll but will the ride go out the window? Are the brakes too much, a question we don’t often ask ourselves in sports cars but the Mazda’s lightness of touch is at stake here.

    I am here to report that it was a blast. Despite what some colleagues have said, I thought the ride came through pretty much unscathed. The stiffer chassis inspires even more confidence because while the standard cars roll a bit, particularly at the rear (good for catching slides, you see), the RS stays very flat but still super-communicative and predictable.

    The steering remains an utter delight. I just love changing direction in an MX-5. It responds with the kind of enthusiasm high-end machines are famous for but without resorting to all sorts of trickery to make it bearable day-to-day. The grip is seemingly endless but the chassis remains as playful as it can with its relative lack of torque to spin up the rears for some tail out nonsense, virtually impossible in the dry, even on the bumpy rubbish I put these cars through.

    The MX-5’s purity is its greatest asset and the RS’s admittedly modest changes improve that feeling rather than push it aside. It’s probably why the MX-5 continued to sell while the Fiat 124 Spyder – which is also a delight – struggled because people who know understand that a 1.4-litre turbo is heavier, lower-revving and less pure.

    And the engine. Despite its place under the bonnet of hatchbacks, it has a lovely raspy sound and kicks on to the 7000rpm redline with little provocation. The approach in the 2.0-litre has always been to me more physical than the 1.5, so again the better brakes and stickier rubber amplify the joy of this car.

    Hot damn it’s good.

    Redline Recommendation

    Good gracious, yes. The RS is one of those rare things, a modded MX-5 that doesn’t ruin everything. And it’s a bargain, I tell you, when you go cost-per-smile.

  • 2021 MG HS Essence Review

    Putting together this classic British badge and mighty Chinese automotive company SAIC, the MG HS gives the sense that big things are coming.

    This is the story of a car that is not the best in class. Like its smaller stablemate, the ZS, there is plenty of room for improvement. But if you look at MG’s sales figures, you’ll see that these cars are good enough to find thousands of buyers in 2021. Possibly 20,000 of them. MG sold nearly 16,000 cars in Australia last year, almost double its 2019 performance.

    Half of those 2020 sales were the MG3, a car MG Australia doesn’t want journalists driving, so I’ve not driven it. It remains one of the few sub-$20,000 hatchbacks in the country and the people buying them clearly like a proper bargain and a long warranty. It’s super-old and has had several facelifts but, as I say, people seem to like it. Good for them.

    Roughly a third of sales went to the ZS compact SUV, which I’ve driven in EV form. It’s okay as far as knock-off Hyundai ix35s go and the ZS T facelift will appear on these pages shortly.

    Around 2500 people bought the mid-size SUV, the HS, MG’s replacement for the GS. That’s pretty good going when you remember that, really, the MG brand only holds real cachet with tweed-wearing, pipe-smoking flat-cappers who think smouldering Lucas Electrics are a feature rather than a bug. Holden, an allegedly beloved brand, couldn’t sell that many Acadias.

    Heck, MG nearly out-sold Holden altogether despite the General offloading their cars for next to nothing as part of its haphazard exit strategy.

    So anyway, spoiler alert: the HS isn’t the greatest thing on four wheels. But I’m here to tell you, it’s a lot better than I thought it was going to be and it’s not going to be long before MG starts punching on with the big boys.

    How much is an MG HS and what do I get?

    MG offers the HS in four flavours, starting at the Vibe, moving through the Excite and landing at the top with the Essence. Which kind of feels like an entry-level name, but hey, I’m no marketing genius. Or indeed a genius of any kind.

    There are no options apart from colours, with just white coming as a freebie, the rest a slightly stiff $700.

    Core – $29,990 driveway

    This bargain basement beastie sneaks under the magic $30,000 mark and puts it in direct competition with compact SUVs (so, smaller cars) from more established makers. The website says it’s still in pre-order, but I’m sure a dealer will take your money.

    You get 17-inch alloys, a four speaker stereo, air-conditioning, active cruise control, auto high beam, halogen headlights, remote central locking, cloth trim, power windows and mirrors, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, manual seat adjustment and a space-saver spare.

    It has the full MG Pilot safety suite, which is not bad going.

    Vibe – $31,990 driveway

    Formerly the entry-level car (the Core arrived in October 2020), you get what’s already in the Core albeit with a six-speaker stereo, keyless entry and start, height-adjustable driver’s seat, heated door mirrors, a shark fin antenna, fake leather trim, front fog lights, silver roof rails, leather steering wheel and a cooled centre console bin.

    You also get a wider choice of colours, with five on offer rather than three on the Core.

    Excite – $34,990 driveway

    The Vibe picks up 18-inch alloys, customisable ambient interior lighting, powered tailgate, sat nav, dual-zone climate control, auto wipers, LED headlights, metal pedals, paddle shifts and the slightly hilarious Super Sport driving mode.

    Essence – $38,990 driveway

    The big price jump to the Essence – the car I drove for a week – includes a panoramic sunroof, a 360-degree camera, leather sports seats, reading lights in the rear, heated front seats, powered fronts (six-way for the driver, four-way for the passenger).

    There’s also a football tragic version of the Essence called the Anfield. You can choose a red interior as long as you choose white or black exterior colours. It’s another $2000, weighing in at $40,990. Apparently, MG sponsors the Liverpool football club which I believe is…good?

    Media system

    The 10.1-inch touchscreen is probably the weakest part of of the cabin. It looks good and is far better than the ZS’s unit, but it’s very slow. Having said that, it’s no worse than the stretched-looking Toyota head unit on Corolla and C-HR.

    In the Essence, the sound was fine, the sat nav hopelessly slow but, as ever, all is forgiven in the form of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, which works well even if you have to stab the screen a bit to get it to respond.

    Service and warranty

    MG supplies on all its cars – except, strangely, the ZS EV – a seven year/unlimited kilometre warranty which puts it on a war footing with Kia while leaving most other manufacturers behind. Except Mitsubishi, but there are specific terms and conditions (and limits) to its ten year warranty.

    You also get a roadside assist for the duration of the warranty, which is pretty good going.

    You’ll need to visit the dealer once every 12 months or 15,000km, which for a turbo engine is not bad. There is – I believe – a capped-price servicing regime but the website is very much not interested in giving up that program’s secrets.

    Safety – 5 Stars (ANCAP,

    The entire range comes with MG Pilot, which is rather nice and other manufacturers will want to take note.

    Pilot includes the usual six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls while throwing in a reversing camera, forward AEB, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, exit warning, speed limit display and reverse cross-traffic alert. As an extra, the top of the line Essence gets around-view cameras.

    The forward AEB has pedestrian and cyclist detection at up to 64km/h and works with other vehicles at up to 150km/h.

    You also get two ISOFIX anchors and three top-tether points.

    The systems are a bit frantic, with beeps and boops everywhere, even worse than a Subaru. Something that at first amused me – then began to grate – was the lane keep assist. When you drifted towards the edge of the lane it would do its job – excellent. But when you had your indicator on for a lane change, it would keep doing its job and then rage quit when you crossed the lane divide, as though screaming, “If you won’t listen then I can’t help you!”

    Having said that, quiet chats with colleagues tells me that this system is light years ahead of where MG was even a year ago.

    Look and feel

    I quite like the look of the MG HS and there’s a reason for that – it looks like a lot of other cars I like the look of. There is a lot of Mazda CX-5 in it as well as more than a hint of Nissan X-Trail in the rear, particularly where the glasslike kicks up. It’s a handsome thing and the value of a funky grille is not lost on the designers.

    The HS also has some nice touches – probably just slightly too much chrome but it’s not wildly excessive. I can’t work out if I like the way the DRLs are designed either, but they’re funky enough. The proportions are spot-on and the wheels fill the arches about right.

    As with the exterior, MG’s designers took some pretty solid ideas from other manufacturers. The flat-bottomed steering wheel has a big red Super Sport button that looks like the starter button from the Audi R8. The circular air vents are actually quite lovely and the centre stack is a nice cross between Mazda and someone else. Don’t come here looking for originality but I did like the tricky merging of the analogue dials with the central digital screen.

    The main caution I had with people who asked me about MGs was about fit and finish. All challenger brands go through a period where they’re slapping cars together and getting them to market. Going by the HS – and the difference between the quality of the MG3 and ZS – MG is at the tail-end of that process and is starting to move into the place Hyundai was in after nearly thirty years on sale in Australia.

    It takes a long, long time to get quality right. MG has been here for less than ten years and when you line up its early cars next to this HS, you can see the huge progress. Hell, a ZS built on the same day is not as good as the HS but you look at a ZS from three years ago and you’ll see how the company has shaped up.

    It’s really well built. Panel gaps are consistent, the interior doesn’t squeak and squawk and nothing was loose or out of place. It felt easily as good as a Suzuki, which is not damning with faint praise. Those guys have been making cars for years.

    Drivetrain and Chassis

    Slotted under the bonnet is a 1.5-litre turbo four-cylinder good for an impressive 119kW and 250Nm. Somewhat disturbingly, the peak torque figure arriving at 2500rpm. Which is interesting, because peak power arrives somewhat later at 5600rpm.

    Driving only the front wheels, the engine is coupled to a seven-speed twin-clutch automatic.

    There’s nothing much to report on the chassis front, apart from a multi-link rear end joining the MacPherson struts up front.

    Fuel economy

    7.3L/100km (combined cycle)

    The little engine, drinking premium unleaded, is rated at 7.3L/100km. And, well, no. You’re going to have to be driving extremely carefully to manage that. I got about 10.2L/100km which, to be fair, isn’t terrible at all, but it’s a bit on the thirsty side.

    Blame the 1520kg kerb weight. And a few other things at which I am just about to arrive.

    Driving

    So, as I said, the MG HS isn’t much to drive. The steering keeps every single thing it knows about the road a closely guarded secret and keeps you awake by randomly changing the level of assistance. That’s probably the worst of it, so really, that’s not bad. This car is hardly aimed at the hardcore enthusiast.

    For a car obviously pitched at townies, the soft suspension set up is very comfortable for pottering about. The multi-link rear-end does its thing without fuss and handles potholes nicely.

    The way it handles reminds me of Japanese cars in the eighties and nineties – reasonably firm in the vertical but lots of body roll in the horizontal. That barely matters around town but if you’re in up-and-down country, the shell does heave about a bit, giving you that rollercoaster effect that might upset a few stomach. So there’s some work to do there. Again, my sources tell me that earlier MGs were pretty terrible all the time, so work is already underway.

    On the freeway it is extremely quiet, even on the rubbish roads kicking around Sydney. So it’s fairly relaxing and the engine hums away quietly until you need to overtake.

    That’s where things fall down a bit. While I admire the chutzpah of a seven-speed twin-clutch, it’s not one of the better ones available. The engine and transmission seem barely on speaking terms – sort of a Pence/Trump deal – so the messages don’t always result in getting the right gear or the power when you want it.

    The 1.5 is very laggy, so much so that it took some time for me to get used to its lazy spin-up, which meant I was mashing the throttle to get it moving. The lag is long and if you’re breaking into traffic, unsettling, but the power arrives eventually and if the gearbox is playing dumb, you can drop it a command via the steering wheel paddles.

    The Super Sport driving mode button is best left alone as it merely makes the transmission behave worse. MG is not alone in this, by the way, so it’s not a specific sledge.

    So all that lag and throttle mashing is the reason for me solidly missing the claimed fuel figure.

    Redline Recommendation

    I felt like I’d been giving the MG HS a bit of a belting, but as I re-read this review, I realised that, actually, it’s not a bad car. It may operate well in a fairly narrow window, but Australians mostly operate in that exact window, especially if they live in the two biggest markets in the land, Sydney and Melbourne.

    The HS is a perfectly reasonable daily driver as long as you don’t expect the kind of polish you get from a Mazda, Hyundai or Kia. While those brands are much more accomplished dynamically, they’re still transport. As a city-biased family car, the MG HS does everything asked of it at an absolutely bargain price.

    While the Essence might not exactly be the kind of money that you want to spend, the second-tier Vibe seems like exceptional value.

    You’re not going to buy the HS for fun driving times. But if you or someone you know is after something cheap, safe, seemingly reliable and they’re not all that fussed about how it drives (about 95 percent of people), then the HS isn’t a bad choice.

    I didn’t think I’d be saying that.

    And talking to the folks at MG Australia, you know that its cars are going to continue to improve. Big things are coming and the HS, while nowhere near perfect, is a good sign of that.

  • Volkswagen T-Cross 2021 Review

    One half of the T-Cross and T-Roc pair, the T-Cross is the German giant’s latest – and late to the party – SUV offering.

    If you could show Karl Benz what his creation would become, I reckon the small SUV segment must be one of the most surprising things to him. Once he’d, you know, recovered from the massive changes wrought upon his chuffing wooden-wheeled machine, anyway.

    It continues to surprise me, for two reasons. The first is that it exists at all. Yes, there have been compact SUVs for years (Suzuki Sierra springs immediately to mind) but nothing prepared me for the virtual replacement of the small hatchback with larger, higher-riding and more expensive versions to which buyers have flocked.

    It just doesn’t make any sense.

    The second thing that surprises me is just how late to this segment is Volkswagen. In typical fashion, however, it has arrived with something box fresh and reset the bar for the rest of them.

    How much is a Volkswagen T-Cross and what do I get?

    Life Auto: $28,390+ORC (MY21, +$400 from MY20)
    Style Auto: $31,390+ORC (MY21, +$400 from MY20)

    I drove a T-Cross Style R-Line, which is the top of the two-tier range with the added R styling pack.

    The base car ships with 17-inch alloys, a six-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, active cruise control, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, auto parking (steering), heated folding mirrors, wireless charging and a space-saver spare.

    Volkswagen’s media system runs on an 8.0-inch touchscreen and also has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, although neither operate wirelessly to go with the wireless charger. The sound was pretty good from the six speakers and the hardware impeccable to use. The basic software on the system is getting on a little, but is very simple. Always a marker for me is when the DAB selection doesn’t require a PhD.

    The car I drove had two packages added – the $2500 R-Line Package bolts on a set of handsome 18-inch alloys, badging, scuff plates, R-Line steering wheel and some nice Alcantara inserts on the seats.

    The Sound and Vision Pack ($1900) throws in the digital dashboard, sat nav and a 300-watt Beats-branded sound system.

    That brings this T-Cross to $35,790 before on-roads.

    Safety – 5 Stars (ANCAP, April 2020)

    This segment has a pretty good range of cars with excellent safety packages and the T-Cross certainly turns up and puts on a good show.

    Along with the usual six airbags, ABS and stability controls, you get a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, front and rear low-speed AEB, high-speed forward AEB, driver fatigue detection, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and automatic high beam.

    You also get two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors.

    The T-Cross scored five ANCAP stars in April 2020.

    Warranty and Servicing

    VW offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is very nice indeed, bettered only by the Kia warranty. I should say the Mitsubishi warranty is ten years, but that would require you owning a Mitsubishi and there’s a couple of caveats in the program, too.

    You can pre-pay your servicing for three years ($990) or five years ($1800), so you’re looking at roughly $300 per year for servicing, which isn’t too bad. VW reckons you’ll save $645 over five years or $256 over three years if you go with the Care Plan over Assure Service Pricing (ie pay-as-you-go).

    It’s worth pointing out that VW says the first service is free, but either way, you’re amortising the costs over the specified period the same way you would with any other car.

    Look and Feel

    While it’s very obviously a Volkswagen, it’s not a jacked-up Polo. I think buyers find that important and I reckon that’s why the new Mercedes GLA isn’t just an A-Class on stilts in its second-generation. It does, however, look like a shrunken T-Roc which in turn looks like a shrunken Touareg and no, that’s not even remotely a criticism.

    It’s a much taller and more upright design than the Polo and adds another five centimetres in length to the hatchback. The 18-inch wheels from the R-Line package look great but render the brakes hilariously dinky-looking.

    Everything is simple, though – straightforward headlights, fog lights and daytime running lights, where Hyundai and Kia and Mazda have gone large, VW kept it very quiet.

    Very conventional, very VW again in the cabin. The Sound and Vision package throws in the digital dashboard which is very slick and almost worth the price alone. Okay, not really, but you won’t be disappointed. The cloth trim has a kind of carbon weave vibe about it with the fake suede additions that come with the R-Line providing a nice lift.

    I will remind you that I am a fan of cloth trim over leather in almost every situation and this is the good stuff. The cabin is a little grey if you were to push me for anything like an adverse reaction, but it all fits together predictably well (built in Germany, dontchaknow) and there are few genuinely cheap elements.

    Rear space is good for adults but don’t expect to get three across. The back seat slides back and forth like in the T-Roc and excellent Tiguan and that’s a massive win if you want more boot space which you often need with small kids. Very clever and exceedingly useful.

    While you get two rear USB ports in addition to the two up front, there’s no armrest or cupholders or air vents, though. You do get cupholders in the front, two of them in the centre console and each door will hold stuff. The front doors will take bottles but the rear pockets aren’t really shaped for it. So a bottle will go in, it will just loll about a bit in cornering.

    The boot has 385 litres when you have the rear seats all the way back, slide them forward and you have a very healthy 455 litres. That’s a lot of boot space for such a small car. With the back seats down it expands yet again to 1281 litres.

    Drivetrain and chassis

    Being Polo-based, the 85 TFSI has the familiar 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo. Cards on the table – I love a three-cylinder engine.

    While the 85kW (at 5000rpm) figure is in more of a Toyota C-HR league rather than a naturally-aspirated Kona or Seltos, it matches the torque figures of most of its competitors. It’s also unusually light at 1240kg (I think only the Vitara is lighter) and with the snappy seven-speed twin-clutch driving the front wheels, you’ll slip under the ten-second mark to 100km/h by a solitary tenth. Not quick but not C-HR slow, either.

    There is a 110TSI coming, but for the moment COVID is keeping things a bit loose. I can’t see how that car will be remarkably better, but if you need more power, it’s coming, along with a 7.8-second run to 100km/h.

    Fuel Consumption

    5.4L/100km

    Volkswagen’s official testing yielded a 5.4L/100km on the combined cycle. One should always be fairly suspicious of ADR-derived figures and I have a 30 percent rule – add about a third of that figure on top and you’re in good shape. It’s not VW’s fault, it’s just not a very good testing cycle for real world figures, but is a benchmark to give you a good idea..

    Anyway, the T-Cross spent a week in my hands and went through the premium unleaded at 6.5L/100km, just inside that rule. And given it’s a bit of a laugh to drive, that’s a pretty good result, I reckon.

    Driving

    I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the T-Cross. I thought it would feel either a lot like a Vitara (given its weight is similar) or a bit leaden. I don’t know why, it had been a while since I had driven any VWs.

    I was, however, not expecting much from the 85kW engine. I hang my head in shame because it has all the character one might expect from a three-cylinder but actually got the T-Cross moving along very nicely. In fact, once the seven-speed was over its customary dithering on anything under about half-throttle, it felt like a bigger engine. Which is why I’m wondering if most buyers will rush for the 110TSI when it arrives.

    I found the T-Cross very agreeable around the burbs and didn’t once felt like it was a particularly slow car. I think it’s because the low-down torque gives you a good shove across the intersection and really only starts to run out of puff once you’re into second gear. In town, that doesn’t matter.

    The steering is good, with a nice positive feel from the front and the chassis is pretty keen to go with you, too. That’s an emerging trend in compact SUVs as car companies work out nobody takes them anywhere slipperier than a Coles underground car park.

    The ride, too, is excellent around town without getting too bobbly unless you’re hitting sharp bumps. That’s where the optional 18s make their presence felt, so if you’re not keen on the occasional jolt through the cabin – and jolt is rather over-playing it – stick with the 17s. Obviously you get a bit more grip from the bigger wheels and tyres, so have a think about that too.

    Competition

    There’s a lot going on in this segment. The Ford Puma is a relative newcomer and is packed with stuff and a more powerful engine. It costs a little less in mid-spec ST-Line and has a few bits and pieces the T-Cross doesn’t have but is on balance less practical.

    The Kia Seltos looks like a bit of a whale size-wise next to the T-Cross, almost approaching its bigger brother, the T-Roc. It’s sharply-priced and for the same money as a T-Cross R Line you can get a mid-spec 1.6-litre turbo all-wheel drive.

    The Hyundai Kona is about to score a facelift and isn’t quite in the same league as the interior and nor does it have as much boot space. Drives well, though, and again you’ll be getting a mid-spec turbo 1.6-litre AWD for this money.

    The Mazda CX-3 is in its twilight years. It still looks great but the tight rear seat and boot aren’t a match for the T-Cross and nor is the driving experience as refined.

    Redline Recommendation

    Despite strolling on to the stage a couple years after everyone else, the T-Cross pretty much resets the bar. While other compact SUVs might be cheaper, have more stuff, be bigger inside, etc etc, the T-Cross rolls up a whole bunch of stuff and presents it in a package that looks great and isn’t too riotously priced.

    If you can stretch to the Style, do it – you get more safety gear, more stuff and it’s the better of the two. Not a lot wrong with the Life, but the extra inclusions are worth it.

    While the total cost of ownership is a little higher than some of its rivals, it’s not nearly enough to knock it from the top of the compact SUV perch. The gap isn’t huge to the rest of the pack, but for what is effectively a walk-up start, the T-Cross is a mighty opponent.

  • 2021 BMW 4 Series Review

    A new BMW sports car is always a good thing and when it’s based on the excellent 3 Series and the styling makes people mad, it’s an event.

    I mean, really, the unhinging over the new nose has been more than a little silly. I mean, that’s what BMW was going for – a lot of people have been talking about this car’s styling and this is pure Bangle-level PR.

    Looks aside there’s a lot to be excited about – the new 3 is amazing and this car is obviously based on it. It has a great set of drivetrains and BMW’s chassis form in the last few years has been almost exemplary.

    I was really looking forward to this car and being able to drive all three models back-to-back was most illuminating.

    How much is a 2021 BMW 4 Series and what do I get?

    The 2021 BMW 4 Series range starts us off with three spec levels – 420i, 430i and M440i xDrive.

    Across the range you get the M Sport package. which means aggro front and rear bumpers, knee pads in the interior (for bracing oneself during cornering) and some interior trim.

    You also get the excellent BMW OS 7.0 (the artists formerly known as iDrive) with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, the latter a splendid addition and not before time.

    BMW 420i 2021 Pricing and Specification

    $70,900 + ORC

    As ever, BMW hasn’t mucked about with the headline pricing but Australia is a weird market and doesn’t mind paying this much as long as stuff comes with it. And it does.

    You get 19-inch wheels, LED headlights with auto high beam, head-up display, power front seats, lighting package, auto-parking with reverse assistant, synthetic leather interior, Live Cockpit professional (fully digital dash), wireless phone charging and DAB radio.

    From what I can work out, the 420i is actually cheaper than the outgoing model. Can’t argue with that.

    BMW 430i 2021 Pricing and Specification

    $88,900 +ORC

    The 430i piles on adaptive M suspension, keyless entry and start including Digital Key (using a keycard or your phone), proper leather interior, M Sport brakes, upgraded auto parking and Driving Assistant Professional.

    This is a hefty $6000 more than the outgoing 430i but it’s got a lot more stuff as standard as well as more power and torque.

    BMW 440i xDrive 2021 Pricing and Specification

    $116,900 + ORC

    Moving on to the top-of-the-range (for now), you get 19-inch M light alloy wheels in Cerium Grey, M Sport differential, electric bootlid, various interior trim upgrades, glass sunroof, heated front seats, laser headlights and harman kardon-branded speakers.

    This is an even bigger price rise, around $13,000. Again, lots more stuff, more power and torque and two extra driven wheels explain a fair bit of it. I’ll be fascinated to see how many folks go for this. You’ll find out why soon enough.

    Look and Feel

    I have made fun of the nose on the new BMW 4 Series, but I have now seen it in the flesh and will now declare that I like it. I think it looks terrific. The marketing pictures were so keen on making a big deal of the grilles that they made them look like Stonehenge had been bolted to the front of the car.

    I don’t like the grilles chromed – I don’t like anything much chromed made after, say, 1965 – but when delivered in the darkened Cerium Grey or just blacked out altogether, I reckon it looks mint. And, lest we forget, the marketing images were also largely without a number plate, making the kidney grilles look yet bigger. I reckon when most people see the cars in the flesh they’ll say, “Well they’re big. But they’re not that big.”

    Apart from that, the new 4 has a beautiful flowing profile. The new car is longer and wider so looks the part and with that extra width comes extra track for a more planted look and feel. The longer wheelbase also makes it look like a baby 8 from the side, and I am on board with that.

    The cabin is another brilliant effort from BMW, the new interiors are absolutely top-notch, with lovely materials throughout and a fresh contemporary design replacing the ageing look of the old car’s, which you could trace back over a decade.

    The new seats are brilliantly comfortable and supportive and there’s plenty of space in the front for you and your bits and pieces. It’s a lovely cabin – quiet, comfortable but with that special feeling you want when you’re dropping this kind of money on a car.

    Drivetrain

    As you’ve probably worked out, there are three engine choices. Well, technically it’s two because there is the excellent B48 four-cylinder in two states of tune and the ever-glorious straight-six turbo in most 40i cars.

    The four-cylinder cars are rear-wheel drive as so many excellent cars are, with the ZF eight-speed changing the gears for you.

    The 420i’s brain spins up 135kW and 500Nm for a 0-100km/h time of 7.5 seconds. Respectable but hardly a rocket ship.

    Stepping up to the 430i you’ll find beefier 190kW and 400Nm. With just 20kg extra to drag (and that’s stuff rather than engine, obviously), you’ll crack the ton in 5.8 seconds which is pretty swift.

    And then of course the B56 3.0-litre twin-scroll turbo six-cylinder powers up for 285kW and 500Nm for a benchmark sprint time of just 4.5 seconds. Which is pretty quick, I think you’ll agree.

    The six also comes with a 48-volt mild hybrid system, which is there to save a bit of fuel and recover energy via braking, a logical extension of the brand’s Efficient Dynamics schtick from the past five or so years.

    Chassis

    Based on BMW’s Cluster Architecture (CLAR) platform, the 4 is most closely related to the excellent G20 3 Series.

    Compared to the old car, it’s 130mm longer, 27mm wider and the wheelbase is 41mm longer. Front and rear track are both up by 28mm and 18mm. Along with that wider front track, there’s now more negative camber on the front wheels for a more positive front end.

    The M440i xDrive scores M Performance brakes and a tricky rear diff for extra-keenness.

    Driving

    I love stepping into a long-doored BMW. Don’t ask me why, there’s just something about them. Across the three versions you’ll find a terrific driving position with tons of adjustment so getting comfortable is easy and straightforward. You sit low, of course but vision out is good and the gaps are covered by sensibly-sized mirrors, parking sensors and the reversing camera.

    Yep, that’s boring stuff, but important to know because one thing that BMW has done so well for years now is user-friendliness. It might be a sports coupe, but it’s comfortable and everything is where it should be. Wireless smartphone integration and a wireless charging pad mean you don’t have cables in the cabin anymore. Result.

    420i

    I drove the 420i first, working my way through Sydney’s various tollways. I feel like this updated version of the 2.0-litre is the smoothest it has ever been. The eight-speed ZF has always been amazing but I couldn’t remember this engine being this smooth and this quiet.

    This is obviously the easygoing cruiser of the three. Even though it has the M Sport suspension – BMW has wisely given up on the softer version for the Australian market – the ride is pretty plush and it wafts along.

    Performance from the 2.0-litre is crisp rather than vivid, but if you’re just buying the 4 because you want a BMW Coupe and you’re not fussed about speed, you’ll be perfectly happy because it looks great.

    It does handle, though. Punching up Bells Line may not have been especially rapid, but the 4 feels so light and delicate in the corners more than makes up for the lack of pace. Driving the 420i also gives you a feel for how neutral is the chassis, with the classic BMW 50:50 weight distribution. You also know it’s neutral because the Bridgestones all give up at once after giving you plenty of warning, the car settling into a gentle four-wheel drift before gather itself up again – the Sport mode is nicely tuned.

    M440i xDrive

    There are a few big jumps from the 420i to the M440i. For a start, there’s 200kg of extra weight, taking the car to over 1700kg. There’s a lot more power to shift that bulk and all-wheel drive to help stick it down, which is, naturally, a good chunk of the 200kg. And another portion of that weight goes to the 48-volt mild hybrid system that I didn’t really have a chance to test as the route I took the 440i down was all about fun.

    As ever, the turbo straight-six is a corker. Refined and super-punchy, all that weight melts away as you push the right foot to the floor. The six is so smooth and powerful, you feel like you can do anything.

    Firing through the corners, the xDrive system ensures there’s plenty of fun to be had while always ready haul you out if  you get it a bit wrong. The seemingly bottomless pit of torque is a result of that tremendous ZF eight-speed making sure you’re in the right gear. Or you can do that yourself with the paddles behind that lovely M steering wheel.

    The adaptive damping is finely-tuned, too, with a ride almost as plush as the 420’s in Comfort mode but with a suitably aggressive Sport+ mode. The steering is so sharp and not too heavy in this mode (something BMW has been struggling with the last couple of years), with the rear diff helping on the way in and out of corners. It’s terrific fun and doesn’t really feel like an all-wheel drive car, just a really sticky rear-wheel drive machine.

    430i

    Driving this car last was interesting. Having tested to the other two, I was wondering if this might be the Goldilocks car. A fair chunk more power and torque, adaptive damping but only 20kg more than the 420i and BMW-purist rear-wheel drive.

    While I didn’t get to throw it down the real twisty stuff, it has the appeal of the 420i’s quiet ride on the less grippy tyres but with extra-grunt from that super-smooth four.

    I really like the way it changes direction but also punches out of the corners with the extra torque over the 420i. Not as quick or as violently as the M440i, no, but it’s still plenty of fun and still under a hundred grand. I’m a big fan of it.

    Redline Recommendation

    In the end, I reckon I’d choose the M440i. I can’t tell you how much I love a BMW straight-six, naturally-aspirated or turbocharged. The security and stability of all-wheel drive bolted into a sure-to-be legendary chassis, it’s a ripper.

    The 4 Series itself has reclaimed the mantle of the most desirable sports coupe. The A5 and S5 are lovely, but don’t have the driver involvement of the 4 while the Merc just falls short too.

    And bizarrely, the photos BMW put out want you to make you think it’s ugly so you talk about it – but once you drive it, you’ll realise the error of the company’s ways. The talk will be all about what a brilliant car it is.

  • Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR Review

    The Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR is the swansong for the Mark 7.5 (and, really, the Mark 7). With Golf R power and a few tweaks. Blimey.

    I say “hot hatch” and I reckon one person out of three will name the Renaultsport Megane or Ford Focus ST or, more recently, the Hyundai i30 N.

    For reasons that will become obvious to that third of responses, the other two thirds say, “Volkswagen Golf GTI.” It should already be obvious because the Golf GTI’s reign has been long and, for the last three generations, under determined assault. If you knock over the GTI, you knock over the king.

    Mention some of those other cars in the same the breath as the GTI and it kicks off in the comments. People get mad.

    Volkswagen, however, doesn’t get mad. Instead of chasing the big power numbers of the other cars, the GTI has steadily, but carefully wound up the engine while keeping what makes the Golf GTI the standard – terrific chassis, great interior and excellent engineering and quality.

    Some of those other cars hit one or two of the GTI’s key qualities, but never all three.

    To see out the long-lived Mark 7/7.5 however, VW has responded quietly with the last-of-line GTI TCR, named for the growing hatchback racing formula. And as the company calmly points out, it’s the fastest GTI they’ve ever made.

    How much is a VW Golf GTI TCR and what do I get?

    Golf GTI: $46,690
    Golf GTI TCR: $51,490

    As you can see, at $51,490, you’re adding almost $4800 to the price of a standard GTI. At first glance not much is different, but the mechanical package does have some notable changes (see below).

    You get 19-inch alloy wheels, an eight-speaker stereo, adaptive cruise with lane guidance, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, dual zone climate control, sat nav, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, part-digital dash, front and rear parking sensors, cooled glovebox, auto parking, leather wheel and shifter, powered everything apart from the seats and a space-saver spare.

    VW’s media system does duty on an 8.0-inch screen and is as slick as ever it has been. The inclusion of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is always welcome and the system features some suitably racy bits and pieces for the stats nerds.

    Safety – 5 Stars (ANCAP, 2013/2017)

    The TCR comes with eight airbags (which includes knee bags for both front occupants), blind-spot monitoring, forward AEB (low-speed with pedestrian detection), reversing AEB, forward and rear collision warning, driver attention detection, active lane keep assist, lane departure warning and rear cross-traffic alert.

    Pretty solid package, I think you’ll agree, and you can add two ISOFIX points and three top-tether restraints.

    The ANCAP rating dates back to 2013 because the car is mostly unchanged from the Golf 7 launched back then (the current model is known as 7.5) but updated in July 2017. I would place a hefty bet on the 7.5 scoring five stars under the current, stricter regime.

    Warranty and Servicing

    VW offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty along with a year of roadside servicing.

    You need to service a GTI every 12 months or 15,000km. You can choose pay as you go as part of VW’s assured pricing regime or you can prepay three or five years of servicing.

    Three years costs $1350, saving between $88 and $282 off normal service pricing. It averages out at $450 per service.

    Five years costs $2300 (with the first service free), saving between $497 and $879 off the pay-as-go, which averages out at $460 per service, which is consistent.

    Look and Feel

    One thing you know you’re getting with a Golf is a very understated look. This Golf has aged rather well and looks as fresh as the Golf 7 GTI I drove in 2014. Without, you know, shouting about it. There have been tweaks and the TCR sports a pretty big honeycomb/chequered flag graphic splashed down the side. I’m not sure if it’s my cup of whatever, but I’ve seen much worse (Renaultsport).

    The interior has also aged impeccably, with a facelift for the 7.5 bringing tech and materials up to speed. I’ve never liked or understood the obsession with the Golf tartan, but I quite like the Alcantara material used on the seats (always favour that over leather) and the red marker on the steering wheel is a nice, racy touch.

    Chassis

    Australian cars come fully-loaded with a ride height 25mm lower than a standard Golf and 5mm lower than a “standard” European market TCR with the fitment of the DCC adaptive dampers. It’s at this point you realise that this is, actually a lot of car for the money.

    Added to that are the Golf R brakes and tweaked steering to make things a bit more direct.

    Some very sharp-looking – as in actually sharp rather than metaphorically – aero devices adorn the front bumper and side skirts while there’s a massive diffuser out the back as well as a larger tailgate spoiler.

    Also part of the value-for-money proposition, the 19-inch alloys (optional overseas) are wrapped in 235/35 Continental Contisportcontact tyres.

    Drivetrain

    There’s a 2.0-litre turbo under the bonnet but things quickly get slightly complicated. It packs the same 213kW found in the all-wheel drive Golf R but sheds 30Nm to 350Nm compared to the engine found in overseas-delivered TCRs (you won’t miss it. Promise). Our engine doesn’t have a petrol particulate filter so we get the six-speed wet clutch DSG. I think that’s how it all worked out, I will confess to being thoroughly confused by all this.

    The torque arrives at a commendably low 1750rpm, which fits between the revs you get it on a standard GTI (1600rpm) and an R (1800rpm).

    The car also gets a stainless steel exhaust as part of the power upgrade package. Extra cooling borrowed from the Golf R stops the thing from cooking itself.

    The TCR also has an electronically-controlled locking diff between the front wheels, which will be helpful in taming all that power.

    So a bit of context…

    Now, I have said to you on a number of occasions that I don’t find the Golf R particularly inspiring, much like I wasn’t the greatest fan of the old AMG A45. The R was better than the Merc which was just a really fast hatchback without a sense of humour.

    The R is good fun but, sadly, less than the GTI when it came to involvement and fun. There’s something about all-wheel drive in some cars (just some) that stops you from feeling like you’re driving it through the corners and instead you’re just hanging on. The standard Nissan GT-R is a paragon of that feeling – devastatingly fast but not as much fun as it might be (and not just because of the all-wheel drive).

    The Golf GTI is absolutely still the standard when it comes to the complete package. The i30 N is sharper and moves around a lot more and bangs and pops and carries on. Up till now, there’s been no DSG where the Golf defined and sold the concept to the world and the quality of the materials isn’t quite there. I don’t think that’s important to all hot hatch owners, but it’s enough for some.

    So here we have what is – potentially – the best GTI ever made. Because you’ve got R power but the lighter, more playful chassis of the GTI, and then some. I recently said on a Carsguide podcast that while the GTI is brilliant, it needed more fun.

    Driving

    I said in the podcast that the GTI needs more fun. That fun comes in the form of the TCR. My word this car is fun.

    You might think I say that because it’s faster, but it’s only a small part of what makes the TCR brilliant. Hot damn is it fast, but it’s the DCC suspension setup, the upgraded brakes and the hotted-up steering and nearly a decade of stability that deliver a terrific drive.

    You can pile into corners with a good deal of speed on board, roll your wrists and the front goes with you. While you won’t be able to tell your passenger which coin you just ran over, you know enough about the surface to press on with confidence.

    The TCR also has a rear end that’s keen to go with you when you want it to, helping you get the car pointing in the right direction with the right combination of braking and steering. It also does it all without any heavy-heaves when you hit big bumps or compressions, something a couple of its competition can learn from.

    And it does all that until you call time, switching it back down to more normal roads, returning the TCR to a more normal Golf experience, with a supple ride, hushed cabin (even with the noisy tyres) and a cabin that looks like it will outlast the Kim dynasty by quite some margin.

    Competition

    The Honda Civic Type R has been around for a while now and it does not do subtle. While you can probably delete the TCR’s hexagons (I wouldn’t), you can’t really do much with the Civic which is pretty ugly no matter which way you cut it. It does alright as a daily driver but you can only get it in manual and it’s way more expensive. Lots of fun, though.

    The i30 N replaced the Renaultsport Megane in my heart as the hard-edged hot hatch of choice. While it doesn’t look as good (now or post facelift), it’s got a good warranty behind it and will soon add an eight-speed twin-clutch to the mix. It’ll have to because Golf 8 is on the way and arguments about its tartan aside, it’s hardly like it’s not going to be any good, is it?

    The Renaultsport Megane (oh, alright, Megane R.S.) has a lot going for it. Strong chassis in normal, Cup or Trophy spec, all-wheel steering trickery and a choice of obstructive six-speed manual or six-speed EDC auto. It’s lost the edge of the old car which makes it far more friendly for everyone, but that means it’s just part of the pack now. Oddly, it’s a far better car than the old one, but also expensive compared to the GTI, costing almost as much as the TCR.

    The Ford Focus ST is a recent entrant in Australia and it’s a cracker. It’s a lot cheaper than the Golf but has a ton of power, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres and a choice of manual or seven-speed automatic. But

    Redline Recommendation

    I can’t think if a good reason not to buy this car. Even at $51,490, I reckon that’s a good deal because you’re getting all the power of a Golf R but with a more agile, more fun chassis.

    And that’s what these cars are about, having a great chassis underneath you. The extra power is just a bonus.

    I’m pleased that this car has wiped the smug smile of my face when I tell people how good the hot hatch market is and that Volkswagen is a bit too relaxed about its pre-eminent position. It takes the fight to the Civic Type R and i30 N and gives them a good run for their money.

    And as it turns out, the new GTI Clubsport has this kind of power and potential. The Golf is fighting back.

  • 2021 BMW M3 and M4: Australian Pricing and Spec

    The 2020 BMW M3 and M4 have landed (after the usual, suspicious leak) with plenty of photos in lairy colours. And stacks of gear and power.

    Yep, it’s got that nose. And in what is sure to be a staggeringly unpopular opinion, I don’t actually mind it now you see it with a number plate slapped across it.

    But, let’s be honest, you’re not going to care about how it looks when it packs a 375kW twin turbo straight six with 650Nm to propel BMW’s sporty mid-sizer.

    And today we’ve got pricing and spec!

    How much is a 2021 BMW M3 or M4 and what do I get?

    M3 MY21: $144,900
    M4 MY21: $149,500

    In what is sure to put a smile on a few people’s faces, the launch M3 and M4 pricing isn’t that much more than the outgoing model.

    The M3 sedan six-speed starts at $144,900 and you get 19-inch alloys at the front and 20s at the rear, carbon fibre roof, adaptive suspension, keyless entry and start (part of BMW’s Comfort Access system), powered boot lid, BMW Laserlights (aw yeah), M Sport seats, heated front seats, head up display, Driving Assistant Plus (auto only), climate control, Live Cockpit Professional digital dash and Merino leather.

    The usual massive touchscreen is powered by OS 7.0 and has – Harmon Kardon-branded speakers, DAB, Apple CarPlay and…ANDROID AUTO (it’s happening, folks), wireless charging pad and the CarPlay at least is wireless.

    Look and feel

    It’s a bold move to stick that nose on the usually more sedate M3 sedan. The elegant lines of the current G20 four-door are already well-known, having been kicking around for a couple of years now. If you can see past the retina-scarring colours BMW’s marketing has chosen (I know why they’ve done it, but still), it looks great without going overboard.

    While you will no doubt be able to fit carbon fibre bits and pieces everywhere, I quite like the racy front end, call cool and collected side view and then four-pipe exhaust and diffuser combo. The M3 has always been pretty like the car it is based on without going nuts. The segment just won’t cop it.

    The M4 is good-looking, too. Again, if it’s not in…uh…fermented butter yellow, it’s quite handsome in an 8-Series kind of way.

    Also familiar is the G20’s interior, but the M cars predictably winds things up. The basic structure is rather lovely, with BMW interiors finally catching up with its German rivals.

    The basic seats look pretty good even if you’re not a fan of the two-tone stuff. You can also see that the digital dash has Audi RS-style changes to take into account the sporting intentions with a simplified big-tacho-digital-speed layout.

    The optional carbon shell seats look amazingly supportive but the colour scheme in the photos are not something I’d entertain.

    Drivetrains

    As with the previous M3/M4 pair, there is a twin-turbo straight-six. At launch, there will be the, er, “low-power” version with 353kw (!) and 550Nm of torque.

    Again, the launch cars will be available with rear-wheel drive matched to this engine, with a choice of the eight-speed ZF automatic (RIP twin-clutch DCT) or a six-speed manual (hooray!)(which hardly anyone will buy).

    An automatic M3/M4 will cross the 100km/h line in just 4.1 seconds.

    Later in 2021 the Competition models will arrive. That means the straight-six is dialled up to 375kW and 650Nm of torque.  With the extra power, the 0-100km/h sprint will be over in 3.9 seconds.

    The Competition also introduces all-wheel drive M xDrive, already familiar from the X3 M Competition and X4 M Competition. Transmission choices remain the same. As with the M5 and M8 Competition, switching off DSC also switches off drive to the front wheels, rendering your car into a power-sliding yobbo. Just like the entry-level RWD car, as it happens…

    The new engine is bristling with all the usual tech. The sump has been split in two, each compartment with its own oil recovery system to ensure the high gs you pull on the track don’t starve the engine.

    Two wingmanra in the wheel arches join the main radiator for extra cooling and the exhaust is allegedly “emotional.” Let’s hope the folks who did the M8’s had a crack at this one.

    Chassis

    BMW says adaptive suspension will be standard across the range, which is promising if you’re considering this as an every day car. It also says that there are “M-specific kinematics and elastokinematics for the front and rear axles.”

    The press release didn’t have an abundance of information. It did specify that xDrive cars will have an active M diff at the rear but stayed quiet on the RWD versions.

    Both cars’ torsional rigidity is up by quite a margin but so is the weight – 1700kg in rear-wheel-drive form is not messing about.

    The rubber measures 275/35 ZR19 at the front and 285/30 ZR20 at the rear, with lightweight forged M alloys.

    Yes, but when?

    UPDATE: As expected, the launch M3 and M4 will be here in 2021 but BMW Australia is saying Q1 which is not far away at all!

    The Competition models will follow later in the year, probably Q4.

    Obviously, both cars are confirmed for Australia because we love them. The launch car will arrive here in early 2021, which isn’t that far away, really.

    No word on pricing, but expect a few more bucks than the outgoing model for both standard and Competition variants and I’ll be surprised if the MY22 M3 and M4 will even offer the non-Comp versions.

  • 2020 Ford Focus ST Automatic Review

    We’ve driven the manual and loved it – what does an seven-speed automatic do to Ford’s fabled Focus ST?

    Watch the Focus ST manual review and read more here.

    One of my favourite YouTube comments on the Focus ST review was where I spent thirty seconds talking about the automatic. The commenter took great exception to this and decided he could watch no longer. I thought that was a bit odd, because it was an important point – it makes the ST desirable to more people.

    I hope he reads this review. He probably won’t, but a big hello to you if you’re out there. Lovely to have you on board.

    Anyway, you’ve read or seen the reviews of the manual. I was…sceptical of a torque converter auto doing good things for the Focus ST. I’ll tell you now, it’s going to sell and it’s going to sell well in the context of Focus ST sales.

    Like the auto Golf GTI, people are looking for that top of the range hatchback with some grunt and they have the money to spend. You can do a lot worse than a Focus and you can do a hell of a lot worse than this tame-when-you-want-it Focus ST. Adding the automatic broadens its appeal significantly in a market averse to changing its own gears and is probably key to the Focus ST’s survival as a product over the coming years.

    How much is a 2020 Ford Focus ST automatic and what do I get?

    2020 Ford Focus ST auto: $44,690 + ORC
    2020 Ford Focus ST manual: $44,690 + ORC

    These prices are a big increase on the LZ ST’s $38,990 but the seven-speed automatic is a no-cost option. Which is nice.

    You get 19-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, electronic damping, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, auto LED headlights, sat nav, auto high beam, heated front seats from Recaro, launch control, leather wheel and seats, powered and heated door mirrors, wireless Qi charging pad, heated steering wheel and a space-saver spare.

    The SYNC3 system comes with ten B&O speakers, which is pretty nifty. The 8.0-inch touchscreen sits high in the dashboard and is easy to reach. The sat nav is a bit of a pain to use and the standard keyboard is ABC rather than QWERTY which is super-irritating. Thankfully, you get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which makes all that drama go away.

    You can add a sunroof for a colossal $2500 which doesn’t seem like great value to me. Only Frozen White and Race Red are free colours, the rest (Agate Black, Ford Performance Blue, Orange Fury and Ruby Red) are $650. That’s kind of annoying, but the price is pretty sharp to begin with and Ford dealers aren’t averse to arm-twisting (except for the Fiesta ST)

    Safety – 5 stars (ANCAP)

    The Focus ST comes loaded with safety gear. Six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward collision warning (low speed), forward AEB with pedestrian avoidance, reverse AEB, reverse collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, speed sign recognition and reverse cross-traffic alert.

    The auto picks up active lane keep assist as well, further strengthening its value-for-money proposition against the manual.

    There are three top-tether and two ISOFIX points for baby and child seats.

    The Focus scored five ANCAP stars in September 2019.

    Warranty and Servicing

    Ford has an excellent after-sales package, with a five-year unlimited-kilometre warranty and seven years of roadside assist as long as you keep your car serviced with Ford.

    Which is worth doing, because the fixed-price servicing of $299 per service for the first four years/60,000km is reasonable for a car with this kind of performance. Service intervals are set at 12 months/15,000km.

    Ford will loan you a car for the day of your service (remember to book) and offer assurances on tyre and brake costs.

    It’s a good deal and the only thing I’ll complain about is that the warranty length doesn’t match Kia’s. Kia doesn’t have a Focus ST rival, though, so that’s kind of moot.

    Drivetrain

    The EcoBoost 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo. delivers a stonking 206kW and 420Nm. That’s an increase of 22kW and 60Nm over the LZ, which was no slouch. It’s reaching for LZ RS numbers, too and I bet the tuners have got those without too much trouble.

    Its flexibility comes from the clever anti-lag system which keeps the engine fuelled on lift-off to keep the gases flowing. Ford says the anti-lag is off the amazing Ford GT.

    The turbo is a twin-scroll unit and has an intercooler to keep things from getting too hot.

    The seven-speed automatic is the same basic unit as the one in the ST-Line but with a gear missing. Ford said in the launch press conference that the second gear from the other cars was a waste (the first two gears are very close), so dropped it out to make the seven-speeder.

    Chassis

    The underguts are identical to the manual, with the obvious differences to accommodate the gearbox.

    I’ve written at great length about the Focus ST already, so here’s a recap. Electronic front diff with a pair of clutches, 20 percent stiffer dampers up front, 13 percent at the rear (which is Ford’s SLA setup).

    The torque steer is tempered by the electric power steering which “filters” out the worst of it, which is quite clever.

    Brakes are 330mm up front and 302mm at the rear. And, again, I said they’re Brembos in the video, they’re not. Oops.

    Driving

    Look, it shouldn’t be a surprise that just because there’s an auto the Focus ST is still a blast to drive.

    That engine is so strong, smooth and torquey. The automatic does a good job managing things but you can play boy-racer with the paddles if you fancy it. The auto’s shifts are smooth and fast in all modes, with a bit of an edge in the upper modes.

    For some folks, the opportunity to get places a little quicker will sway them on the automatic. It’s quick off the line, shifts faster and even uses a little less fuel. As I get older and drive more cars, I still love a manual but I wonder where the crossover point is to push me towards an auto.

    The Focus ST is fast, really fast. Like its Fiesta ST cousin (where it’s highly unlikely an auto fit for the job would squeeze in), I reckon it’s on that limit. Modern hot hatches would probably show a Ferrari 355 a clean pair of heels on a tight country road. That’s how fast these cars have become in a specific set of circumstances. And that means that a lot is happening.

    Why am I telling you that? Because the auto Focus ST is a good entry point for a performance car, in the same way an auto Golf GTI is. You get all the fun of the fair, I mean, chassis, but with every day usability and if your significant other won’t/can’t drive a manual, they can’t stop you having your plaything.

    Redline Recommendation

    If you need an automatic, things are opening up for you. The DSG Golf GTI changed the hot hatch game and the Megane and now Focus have piled in behind it. The DCT i30 N is coming, too.

    I really like the way the Focus ST goes about its business and the auto means you can get on with having fun while also making it more liveable in the driving most of us have to contend with day-in, day-out.

  • 2021 Hyundai i30 N on the way

    Hyundai’s giant-slaying hot hatch has had a facelift and had some surgery, adding a new optional eight-speed gearbox and more grunt.

    We’re very, very fond of the i30 N here at The Redline. So fond that we think that it bests the Volkswagen Golf GTI as a driver’s car, which is a massive achievement. The Golf is excellent. The i30 N is excellenter.

    But, as ever, things change. The Mk 8 Golf GTI is well on its way and even before that lands the GTI TCR is here to return fire against Hyundai’s runaway hit. Hyundai knows from experience you can’t just stand around and cop it sweet.

    The i30 N will continue on in hatch and Fastback, with the latter’s facelift even more subtle.

    Look and feel

    Looking at it in profile, not a great deal has changed on the i30. It’s the same conservative shape as it ever was and you’ll be hard-pressed to tell it’s the new one. The front end is where all the action is, with new, more aggressive headlights and a big N-badged grille.

    Along with the new, sharper headlights come new V-shaped LED driving lights.

    Look, it’s not a big facelift, so let’s not get too bogged down in it. The rear end also gets a mild scrub, but the Fastback (not pictured) remains identical.

    A mildy revamped interior includes the option to choose lightweight (ahem) N Light seats. These new seats are 2.2kg lighter than the already rather good N seats and are trimmed in Alcantara and look a bit racy. No word yet on the price, but they won’t be cheap.

    There is also a new, larger central screen screwed into the dash, with a bunch of new telemetry screens for that extra-special person who wants to know how many gs they pulled at turn three. I mean, I get it, but it’s not for me.

    Apart from that, it looks pretty much the same, which is no bad thing although one hopes an unspoken change is an improvement in some of the plastics to at least try and close the gap to VW on the interior quality front.

    Drivetrain

    The changes are big and small here.

    The small changes are in the engine itself. In Australia we only get the Performance version of the i30 N, which means we get the full 206kW, an improvement of 4kW.

    More impressively, torque rises by over ten percent to 392Nm, a boost of 39Nm. That should further trouble the Pirelli’s ability to resist axle tramp under hard throttle.

    The six-speed manual stays but, much to the happiness of many (including dealers, no doubt), the much-anticipated eight-speed twin clutch transmission is now available.

    i30 N 8-speed transmission

    This isn’t related to the existing seven-speeder available in the i30 N Line and other turbo-powered Hyundais on the i30 platform (see also Kona). It’s an all-new gearbox, using a wet-clutch system rather than the dry of the seven-speeder.

    The eight-speed equipped car obviously has paddle-shifters and three transmission modes – N Grin Shift, N Power Shift and N Track Sense Shift.

    The first, whose name I won’t repeat because I ground my teeth enough the first time I typed it, is a sort of party mode where the engine and transmission go bonkers for 20 seconds. There’s even a countdown on the dash to tell you how you’re going and no doubt there’s a cool-down between button presses.

    The second puts the transmission into maximum attack when you use more than 90 percent of the throttle, giving you a “push effect” on the upshift.

    The third seems a bit vague to me, with the press release saying it “automatically recognises when the road conditions are optimal for dynamic driving, for example on a racetrack, and activates automatically. By selecting the right gear and shift timing, it provides optimal performance, just like a professional race car driver.”

    Engine modes

    The engine modes stay and again have the silly name – N Grin Control System. Five are on offer – Eco, Normal, Sport, N and N Custom and work on throttle, engine and suspension setup.

    The modes also alter the behaviour of the electronic limited-slip diff and the stability and traction systems.

    Chassis

    Not a great deal to report here. One imagines the detailed work of chassis tuning has continued both here and overseas.

    You can specify forged 19-inch alloys which are 14.4kg lighter than the standard wheels. If you choose those, you also get specific, red-painted brake calipers.

    The electronic dampers stay, of course, and as already mentioned, change stiffness based on the mode selected.

    The front brakes are also larger for 2021, with an increase of 15mm to 360mm. That’s always welcome in such a fast car.

    Safety upgrades

    Hyundai has thrown a few more bits and pieces into the safety box, but it’s a bit complicated.

    No matter which combination you pick, the forward AEB system now has pedestrian detection and you also get lane following assist (LFA).

    Only the hatch gets blind-spot collision warning and rear-cross traffic alert.

    If you get a DCT hatch, you get blind spot collision avoidance assist and rear cross traffic collision avoidance (which is basically rear AEB).

    No idea why Fastback buyers are ripped off here or why manual drivers miss out on a couple of bits, but I’m pretty sure I know what the excuse will be.

    How much and when?

    We can expect the 2021 Hyundai i30 N in Australia in the first half of 2021, which isn’t too far away. Hyundai hasn’t said what the price will be, but you can bet it will a) go up b) but probably not by much.

    The eight-speed will be a game-changer for the i30 N, attracting a crap-ton more buyers who would otherwise go Golf GTI DSG or Focus ST auto. Or even Megane.

  • 2020 BMW M8 Competition: Dead-set beast

    BMW’s flagship sports coupe is an absolute rip-snorter, with a proper sports car lurking underneath the long-legged GT body.

    The 8 Series is supposed to be the replacement for the 6-Series, but it’s more than that. I reckon it’s more of a reset because both generations of the 6 were a bit hard on the eye and felt compromised. I liked them, but the M6 was definitely more fast GT/coupe version of the 5 Series than anything else, particularly in its second iteration.

    Now – as we already know from the M850i – the 8 Series is a different proposition to the old 6er, and it’s better. Better-looking, better to drive, much nicer interior and a just a much better proposition.

    How much is a 2020 BMW M8 Competition and what do I get?

    $352,900 + ORC

    Big figure, long list of stuff. Like, really long.

    You get 20-inch wheels, 16-speaker Bowers and Wilkins-branded stereo, auto headlights and wipers, interior ambient lighting soft-close doors, heated folding rear vision mirrors, power boot lid, keyless entry and start, power front seats with heating and cooling, heated steering wheel, M Display key, drive recorder and dual-zone climate control.

    Laser headlights

    The headlights come in for special mention – they’re BMW Laser Lights which you can see in the little blue element in the headlight unit. They’re utterly incredible, throwing a beam almost 600 metres down the road.

    The 10.25-inch touchscreen hosts BMW’s operating system 7.0 which is exceptionally good. It’s full of stuff like live traffic, news and weather, intelligent personal assistant, the hilarious Caring Car (three year subscription for some of that) and wireless Apple CarPlay matched with a wireless charging. Android Auto should be with us on BMWs later in the year.

    Also thrown in for Australia is the M Driver’s Package, with a largely pointless top speed increase to 305km/h but rather more usefully, BMW Driving Experience Advance 1 and 2 courses, which are tremendous fun. And you know what I always say about training – do it.

    The car I drove also had the optional M carbon ceramic brakes ($16,500) and the M Carbon Exterior Package ($10,300) which adds carbon bits on the air curtain intake, carbon mirror caps, rear spoiler and a rear diffuser insert.

    Total cost was $379,700 before on roads.

    Safety

    The M8 Competition starts with seven airbags, stability and traction controls systems, ABS and brake assist (BA), piling on forward AEB, lane-keep assist,  blind-spot monitoring, front and rear cross-traffic alert (useful with the long nose), speed-limit recognition, high-beam assist, driver attention detection,  night vision, around-view cameras, front and rear parking sensors, among others.

    Warranty and Servicing

    M cars, like their lesser brethren, come with BMW’s ever-skinny three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. Given Mercedes and AMG have stepped up with a five-year offering, it’s probably time BMW (and Audi) joined them.

    You can buy five years of servicing for $5051 which covers 80,00km of travel. You need to return to the dealer ever year or 15,000km, which is okay.

    Look and Feel

    Looks amazing in frozen blue with the no-cost option wheel choice, yeah? The carbon stuff is a bit yeah, whatever for me, but that’s whatever.

    I love the car’s shape, though. It’s so much more elegant than the old car’s. The detailing is typical current BMW, with a big and in this case misshapen grille. As the grille is blacked out – along with some other bits – it doesn’t matter.

    The best is the rear view – those taillights are just right and I love the shape of the boot lid and the subtle carbon wing. And who doesn’t love a quad exhaust, especially when BMW has rediscovered the way to make a racket…

    Inside is mostly familiar from other contemporary BMWs – including the 840 Gran Coupe we drove recently – and unlike its rivals has usable (well) rear seats. At least they’re actually seats rather than glorified shelves.

    The seats look fantastic, especially with the patterned leather and Alcantara headlining. Superb.

    I’d love a proper set of paddles on the steering wheel, but when I say proper, I mean ones like the Lamborghini Huracan, so…

    Chassis

    The M8 is yet another Cluster Architecture (CLAR) BMW with the Carbon Core technology found in upper-end BMWs since the the current 7 Series made its debut.

    Given the commonality with the crushingly good M5, you’ll see a lot of stuff the same.

    The Active M differential connects the rear wheels as part of the M version of xDrive. The system includes several modes – AWD, AWD Sport and, ahem, rear-wheel drive.

    The CLAR chassis features a carbon transmission tunnel to try and shave some weight, but she’s still a hefty beast.

    Switching between the various modes also switches between the suspension’s comfort, sport and sport plus, courtesy of M Adaptive suspension. It’s not the air suspension you might find on a couple of rivals, but the M8 doesn’t need the weight. Nor, as it turns out, does it need the air suspension.

    If you’re interested, the front suspension is by double wishbones and the rear a complicated five-link design, reinforced to hold itself together under the huge loads. The front axle has 1.2-degrees of negative camber, which is a lot for a road car. BMW says that’s inspired by the M8 GTE racer. Kinda pub talk cool, but if you bang on about this on internet forums, not so cool.

    BMW’s new integrated braking system flings the vacuum booster of old and replaces it with an electric actuator. That means faster responses to pedal pressure and engineers have been able to match braking response to the chosen mode.

    Drivetrain

    The brilliant BMW 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 – beautifully installed with a standard carbon cover – delivers an astonishing 460kW and 750Nm through the ubiquitous eight-speed ZF automatic.

    M xDrive sends the power to all four wheels or, when you decide, only to the rear wheels. The systems is rear-biased and brings the fronts more into  play when required, which given the power and torque available is reasonably often.

    Maximum torque – probably more than the quoted 750Nm, if you’re wondering – arrives at 1800rpm and hangs around until 5800rpm. Just 200rpm later all 460kW (or more, again) arrives.

    Driving

    On the way home from the Secret Magic Car Dungeon where I pick up cars, there is a tunnel. I pressed the M1 button on the steering wheel to ensure the exhausts were wide open and gunned it.

    This thing can roar and on the upshift you get a Ferrari Portofino-style crack! from the exhaust. This is something I’ve missed in turbo BMWs, that lack of ridiculous, exuberant character the old naturally-aspirated engines had.

    Looking at it, the M8 is a blinged up GT. Its weight suggests it too. As it turns out, M is not interested in suggestion or assumption. This is a properly bonkers sports car.

    In AWD Sport you could easily be enjoying the delights of a 911 Carrera 4. No, it won’t feel as light or deliver the same steering feel but you will be having just as much fun. The swinging sledgehammer that is the throttle spins up sound and fury from the awesome V8.

    Down the wet and twisty roads that I got during my time the M8, it was supreme. The brakes are colossally powerful, too, reining in the speed that doesn’t so much build as instantly appear when you flex your right foot.

    If you want to get really brave, go into RWD. That transforms the M8 into an absolute ratbag. I had that programmed into M2 mode and hoo-boy. Damp roads mean wheelspin into third gear (where I chickened out) and, oh, the same in the dry (ditto).

    Being able to hit that button is what makes this car a sports car, not just a handy GT. Being able to play on the throttle and the steering is something you want in a car like this and the fact it’s so much fun when you’re there is the Jekyll and Hyde game you want from a $340,000 car that says it can do anything.

    Like the M5, the tail will swing on your command but the M8 is far more playful than the big boi sedan. You sit lower, too, so it’s got a real supercar vibe.

    Competition

    I don’t think it’s overplaying it to say that the M8 is more akin to the AMG GT or the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

    The former is a tricky machine to describe, but it’s very focussed in its construction in the same way an Audi R8 is. The best match is the AMG GT-R with its higher power output. It doesn’t have the cabin of the M8 or the possibility of a comfortable ride, but the two are well-matched when you turn everything up in the M8.

    The Aston I haven’t driven, but it’s a tight, beautiful and potent package.

    I have driven the 911 Carrera 4, though. You can’t tell the front wheels to take a break and it is hugely competent on road and track, but never as playful as the bigger M8. I don’t think Porsche fans will be swayed by the BMW but they’re definitely in the same league. I know, I was surprised too.

    Redline Recommendation

    The M8 Competition is so different from the M850i it’s hard to believe they’re the same car. That’s not a sledge on the M850i – it’s a cracker of a car – but the M8 really takes it into proper M territory.

    It has two closely linked personalities – fast-and-fun and fast-and-wild. With carbon ceramic brakes it will do battle on road and track on the same day and without ruining your life. It might require a tyre stop, but you already knew that.

    That the M8 can be mentioned in the same breath as the 911 is impressive enough. That it stays with it, built on a platform it shares with far less exciting machines is testament to the spectacular depth of engineering at M.

    The next M8 will very likely be an EV. It will be blindingly fast and probably more practical. But it won’t be like this.