The Audi AI:ME Concept will make its debut at CES and is full of ideas about future mobility. Look past the PR guff and there’s some interesting stuff.
CES 2020 is usually full of stupid things, but Audi seems to have put some thought into things. The AI:ME concept is what Audi calls “empathetic.” I did say there was some PR guff.
Cool. / More front / Only shot of the back / Looks like it can’t park
You can’t argue with how it looks – it’s a very cool design. The Vegas location is not only a nod to the CES show but also the fact this is an urban vehicle. There are some very, very strong Audi A2 areas here.
Audi says it’s empathetic because it uses machine learning to work out where you go and what you do. The current MIB2 version of the MMI does that, but given the AI:ME packs MIB3, one assumes it’s better. Those of us with too much trust in our iPhones already know that on Saturdays it tells us what the traffic is like to our weekend cafe. Same with the AI:ME.
The car also features “3D mixed reality”. Basically a head-up display on steroids, it will place a navigation icon in your line of vision over the lane you need to take or the street you need to turn into. Audi reckons the pointer looks like it’s 70 metres down the road and means you don’t have to re-focus. Which is good for fighting fatigue.
This is all on a screen-on-demand, measuring 122cm wide and 15cm high. The OLED screen – or portions of it – remain transparent until required. Nifty. Or would be if I could show you what it looks like – for some reason, Audi’s central PR chose not show it. Yet.
Another fatigue-fighting feature is adaptive lighting. If the car thinks you’re tired, it will change the interior lights to a cool, blue light, which apparently wakes you up a bit.
All of this is powered by new hardware, with ten times the processing of MIB2, so it should be up to the job.
Anything else?
Also, it can drive itself, but we’re not in for the Cult of Autonomous Driving at the moment, so that’s just a party trick.
I’ll update with more pics when they’re released.
As I wrote this, it became increasingly clear that MIB3 isn’t far away, we probably won’t get that funky screen for a bit and I’m really hoping this shape goes into production because it’s cool. Perhaps an A3-sized EV?
Updated! Interior Images!
Proper bum shot / Rear Seats / Front seats / Proper doors! / View Forward / Interior / KITT steering wheel / Ah, the screen is across the bottom / Purty
The Mercedes-Benz CLS350 is the absolute definition of smooth. Gorgeous profile, stacked with stuff, it’s a car for those who like to drive art.
Fifteen years ago boring, dependable Mercedes-Benz invented a whole new niche – the four-door coupe. The CLS-class came out of nowhere and redefined the idea of a luxury sedan. The idea was first presented in 2001 as the Vision CLS and then sent into production in 2004.
This car is the third-generation CLS, the C257. The idea of a less-practical E Class has survived the onslaught of SUVs and continues to be one of the brand’s most recognisable cars.
Words: Peter Anderson Co-pilot: David Sharpe Images: Matt Hatton
The CLS350 opens a three-car range consisting of the 350, 450 and 53AMG. The 350 is a turbo four-cylinder with 220kW while the 450 and 53 AMG pack the twin-turbo straight-six.
A lot of people asked how much the CLS350 was worth and were surprised at the cost. Under $200,000 for a car like this was a surprise for everyone and I’ll admit, I was too. I guess it’s the kind of car that projects expense.
If you buy a CLS350, you start with a 13-speaker stereo, 20-inch AMG-branded alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, ambient lighting, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, active cruise control, leather and wood trim, electric front seats, sat nav, active LED headlights, head up display, leather trim, auto parking (steering), power everything, auto wipers, sunroof, air suspension and run-flat tyres.
There is a bunch of cameras – front, side and reversing cameras give you an excellent view around the car.
The 13-speaker system is run from the utterly fantastic central screen. The new interior architecture is lifted from the lovely E-Class (reviewed here in E63 AMG form) so has the two massive 12.3-inch screens. The central one run Mercedes’ COMAND system which is…well, it’s alright, but it’s no iDrive. The speakers are branded by Burmester and you can pump usual AM/FM signals as well as DAB+. If you’ve got Android or iPhone, you can use Auto and CarPlay via USB. The latter looks brilliant on that big screen. Did I mention how great those two screens are? They’re great.
Colours include Obsidian Black, Vansite Blue, Magno Selenite Grey ($4300!), Graphite Grey, Selenite Grey, Hyacinth Red ($2990), Iridium Silver, Diamond White Bright ($4300 again) and Polar White.
You can get Nappa leather trim for $3490, Comfort Package (funky front seats with cooling as well as heating and heated rear seats, $7100), Exclusive Line (old man stuff like wood trim on the steering wheel and 19-inch alloy wheels, NCO).
Safety: 5 stars (EuroNCAP, 2016)
ANCAP has awarded the E-Class a five-star rating but unlike EuroNCAP, does not mention the CLS.
From the EuroNCAP site:Data reviewed by Euro NCAP, together with additional tests, demonstrate that the rating of the E-Class also applies to the CLS-CLass.
The CLS ships with seven airbags (including driver’s knee), blind spot detection, active safety bonnet, high and low-speed forward AEB with pedestrian detection, active cruise control, lane keep assist and lane departure warning.
Sadly missing is reverse cross-traffic alert, which would be nice, particularly in a car that is difficult to see out of.
Warranty and Servicing
Warranty: 3 years/unlimited kilometres
Three years isn’t long enough, but there you are. BMW and Audi are also guilty of this and I’d go so far as to say Lexus’ four-year warranty isn’t enough either. I reckon you should expect five years from a premium manufacturer, especially if everyone else (not German) can manage it.
You do get three years roadside assist, which is nice.
Servicing: 12 months/25,000km
While I don’t like the warranty, the servicing intervals are generous, Jaguar Land Rover generous, in fact. Some intervals are 12 months/10,000km and that’s silly given most of us exceed 10,000km in a year. 25,000km covers pretty much everyone.
You can choose pay-as-you-go (PAYG) service pricing (sort of like capped-price servicing) or pay up front. The program covers three services either way.
On the CLS350, you’ll pay $2350 for the first three services if you pay upfront ($783 average), saving you $600 or $200 per year. You can also pre-pay for two more services, taking the total to $3200 for four services ($800pa) or $4950 ($1000pa) for five. Those last two services seem pricey and aren’t listed on PAYG, so if you know you’re going to keep your CLS that long, you know what to do to control your costs.
Mercs seem to have a habit of being expensive to service after three years.
Look and Feel
You can’t deny that this CLS350 has presence. From the front, it’s properly low and that funky grille with the over-sized three-pointed star leaves you in no doubt what sort of car is bearing down on you.
Mercedes has dialled back the blobby headlights in recent years, which is awesome. These are nice, crisp little units and with the daytime running lights on, they look terrific.
The CLS’s real party trick is the coupe profile. Since day one, the CLS has had that racy roofline. It’s still obviously a four-door sedan and in this iteration is, I think, more resolved.
As it’s based on the E-Class, it makes sense that it takes on that car’s interior. It’s mostly great – the big screens, lovely materials and those air vents are super-cool. They look like turbines from a big turbofan engine. Mint.
The front seats are massively comfortable and you can’t overstate how the whole experience is all about comfort. You sit very low, obviously, it’s much lower and racier than the E-Class. The steering wheel is almost Subaru-busy and not as ergonomic as perhaps I’d like, but owners seem to like them.
The rear seats are pretty tight if you’re over about 180cm or around six-feet tall. Like an 8-Series Gran Coupe, its falling roofline limits headroom and the low position of the front seats mean tight foot room. Legroom is good, though, and for the first time you can fit three across, but two is lovely. Vision for rear-seat passengers is also limited by the roofline.
The boot offers up 490 litres, which is just a little more than a C-Class, but you can’t have it all, I guess. It’s still a fair bit of space. You have a pair of cupholders in the centre console and rear seat passengers get them too in the centre armrest. They also score air-conditioning vents. Each door will take a mid-size bottle in the pockets.
Long story short, the Granddad Express vibe of the old E and CLS is well and truly gone. It’s super-modern and genuinely cool inside and out.
Drivetrain
M264 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder
The CLS350’s motivation comes from a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol with 220kW and 400Nm. Those are very healthy figures but the CLS needs them to push 1775kg of kerb weight along. That cracking torque figure is available between 3000 and 4000rpm while peak power arrives at 6100rpm.
Power goes to the correct end of the car, the rear, via Mercedes’ very clever nine-speed MCT (multi-clutch transmission). Despite the name, it’s not like a normal twin-clutch but is more like a motorbike’s gearbox. Several clutches sit in an oil bath acting as a single clutch but, wow, is it smooth.
The slightly startling 0-100km/h figure of 5.1 seconds is quite something given it’s a little four-cylinder turbo and a lot of car.
Chassis
As this isn’t a performance version, the air suspension is definitely set up for comfort. Along with that, you can lift the car on the air bags at each corner. That’s a handy feature given how low the car is.
The standard 20-inch wheels have 245/35s up front and 275/30s at the rear. With low profile rubber like that, the standard air suspension is a must. You can down-size the wheels to 19-inch units for a bit more sidewall either individually or part of the no-cost option Exclusive Line.
Peer through the big alloys and you’ll see perforated discs, which work a treat.
The CLS350 is a whopping 4988mm long, 1890mm wide and 1427mm high, riding on a 2939mm wheelbase.
Driving
The CLS350 is all about hushed, comfortable progress. It’s difficult to remember a car so calm, cool and collected while also showing such a decent turn of pace.
You’d think the four-cylinder would struggle with the car’s weight and girth, but it doesn’t. It’s almost dead quiet, you have to sometimes check the engine is on. It spins swiftly and quietly to the redline and the transmission keeps you in the power band when you need it.
When you’re just doddling along in town, it’s all beautifully calibrated, with easy torque to keep you moving. Out on the freeway, there’s almost no noise of any kind, which is remarkable given the amount of rubber beneath you.
The air suspension is responsible for much of the credit. It really soaks up the road, feeling more like a ship carving through calm waters than rolling over tarmac. You won’t be having a great deal of fun on a curving road if you want to push on, though – the weight and setup just aren’t built for cracking on. The suspension will stiffen up and flatten the car’s roll, but it doesn’t try too hard.
The steering is direct and light but feel isn’t what you’d call abundant.
And that’s okay – you didn’t buy a CLS350 for that. You’ll be looking up the range for that.
Competitors
There isn’t a lot around like the CLS. Audi’s A7 is stunningly pretty and packed with technology. Now in its second generation, you can have one with a 180kW 2.0-litre turbo 45 TFSI ($115,000) or a 250kW/500Nm 3.0-litre V6 quattro 55 TFSI for $133,600. Servicing is way cheaper at $1870 for three years and $3170 for five years, irrespective of engine type.
Perhaps closer in concept and stature is the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe. It’s way more expensive than the CLS, starting at $199,900 for the 840i M Sport rear-wheel drive 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six. The M850i xDrive is a whopping $272,900 but does have a lovely 4.4-litre V8 twin-turbo. You can’t get a V8 CLS anymore.
Neither of these cars is quite the same as the CLS. You could, I guess, consider a Jaguar XF? But really, the CLS lives out on its own.
Redline Recommendation
The CLS350 is genuinely lovely. Every person who looked at it, drove it, photographed and rode in it said it was a damn fine automobile. And it is. It’s missing some bits and bobs, mainly around safety. The warranty is too short and the service pricing really starts to climb after three years, but I guess it’s not excessive.
It’s not a sports car, despite looking like one, so be warned. If you want something quicker and more lively, you’ll have to step up to the higher-spec or stick around for the Audi S7.
But if you’re after a gorgeous car that pretty much floats along, the CLS350 smashes those KPIs out of the park.
Audi’s RS4 and RS5 are two of the quickest mid-size cars on the planet from any manufacturer. Same but different? Or is there more to it?
Life moves pretty fast for some people. One minute you’re knocking about, having a laugh, making tons of cash and driving a fast, all-wheel drive two-door coupe. Okay, that’s only a few people, but it happens. And then, seemingly without warning, it all changes. One becomes two and subsequently three or four. And I don’t mean dogs, although I guess that could make five.
Two doors doesn’t work anymore, but neither does the idea that you have to gain altitude and potter about in an SUV. Nobody wants that for you. Do they? Audi does, they’ll offer you an SQ5 and you’ll probably like it. But really, deep down, what you want is something with an RS badge, something you can’t have in a high-riding MLB. So maybe the RS4 Avant is the car you need.
We brought together the RS5 you used to drive and the RS4 Avant that will fit your new life to see what are the differences and whether the wagon stacks up.
Words: Peter Anderson Co-pilots: Brendan Allen and Todd Fletcher Images: Matt Hatton
RS4 and RS5: How much and what do I get?
Audi RS4 Avant:from$152,529 (before ORC) Audi RS5 Coupe & Sportback: from $157,700(before ORC)
RS4 Avant vs RS5 Coupe
The more practical RS4 lands with a 19-speaker stereo, 20-inch alloys, three-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, active cruise control, electrically-adjustable front seats with massage function, sat nav, auto LED headlights, Nappa leather seats and leather elsewhere, auto parking, powered tailgate, auto wipers, sunroof, wireless hotspot and a space-saver spare.
A bunch of cameras help you look after the car and others, with front, side and reversing cameras.
Audi’s Virtual Cockpit instrument cluster is standard, along with the extra modes you get in the RS models.
Virtual Cockpit with RS stuff / RS5 front seats / They’re both pretty much the same up front
Audi’s MMI system comes up on a big 10.1-inch screen perched on the dashboard. It also has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as DAB+ digital radio and, strangely, a DVD player.
The RS5 specifications are basically the same, with just a few detail changes that are tricky to pin down.
You can option up two other 20-inch wheel designs, one is no-cost the other $4500. You can also add Dynamic Steering ($2210) and Carbon Cermaic front brakes for $11,900. Quite why you’d need the latter is beyond me, but there you go.
You can choose various styling packages that add things like carbon fibre ($11,900), a combination of carbon fibre and aluminium ($10,900) and more Nappa leather ($2070). If you’re hellbent on spending another $12,000, spend it on the brakes is my advice.
There’s only one free colour, the Nardo Grey of the RS4 Avant in the pictures, the rest of the colours – Mythos Black, Navarra Blue, Sonoma Green, Daytona Grey Pearl, Misano Red, Florett Silver and Glacier Red are a vaguely preposterous $1990. If you want to go bananas, there is Audi Exclusive Paint for a whopping $5450.
Safety: Five stars (ANCAP)
The A4 range scored five stars in October 2016 and the A5 scored the same in March 2017.
As well as the usual ABS, stability and traction controls and the inherent safety of all-wheel drive, there’s a hefty safety package on the RSes. You get six airbags, blind-spot monitoring, reversing camera, front and side cameras, high and low-speed forward AEB, forward collision warning, driver attention detection, auto high beam, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, exit warning (stops you dooring cyclists and other cars) and reverse cross-traffic alert.
Matrix LED headlights / 20-inch alloys / RS4 Avant
The Technik Package ($3900) adds head-up display and Matrix LED headlights, which are terrific. The Matrix LEDs use a bank of diodes that can be blanked out individually to stop the lights dazzling oncoming drivers or drivers in front.
Warranty and Servicing
Warranty: 3 years/unlimited kilometres Servicing: 12 months/15,000km, Service Plans available
Audi’s warranty is not really good enough for a premium manufacturer, accusations I have also levelled at BMW and Mercedes. So I’m cranky with all of them. You can buy an extended warranty but that’s a thing you have to argue with your dealer about.
You get three years roadside assist with both cars, too. Like the warranty, it should at least be five years. Having said that, if you keep going back to Audi for servicing, you get a 12 month extension on roadside. Audi calls it Service Initiated Roadside Assistance (SIRA).
You can pre-purchase your servicing, which is a good way of controlling costs and, frankly a negotiation point when you’re buying. The service plans are identically-priced between the RS4 and RS5, with $1950 for three years coverage and $3020 for five years. The cost of pay-as-you-go servicing is not listed on Audi’s website.
Audi dealerships are generally quite nice and they look after you quite well – coffee, tea, snacks, wifi, that sort of thing.
Look and Feel
You can tell these cars are from the same mother. They share a lot of underbits and, visually at least, appear to share plenty of overbits, too. The wheels are different, the grilles and lights slightly different but up front, you are a little hard-pressed to tell them apart unless you spot the lower roof of the coupe from dead-ahead.
Obviously, once you’re around the side it’s all change. The Avant is higher and quite a bit longer – 4781mm plays 4723mm – with some of that length coming from a longer wheelbase (2826mm to 2772mm). The rear of coupe looks like it could be a hatchback, but as ever, it has a short stubbly bootlid.
Cargo storage isn’t as different as you might think – the RS5 has a 465-litre boot while the Avant scores 505 litres. For a more apt comparison, the A4 sedan splits them on 480 litres, so there’s obviously not a great deal of space to work with here. The RS4’s is obviously much easier to use, with the big tailgate. I wouldn’t want to be loading Ikea flat-packs into an RS5. Well, I don’t want them in the RS4 either, but they will go in much more easily.
Both cars have cupholders front and rear and the RS4 has bottle holders in each door. The best place for your phone is kind of annoying, under the front armrest, but there are USB ports in there as well as a 12V adapter.
The RS4 will be a big winner with passengers, with good head and leg room as well as far superior vision out. You can also fit three (squeezily) across the back of the Avant, whereas the coupe is a four-seater.
Drivetrain
The RS4 and RS5 are both powered by the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 Audi develop for use across the various VW Group brands. It replaced the old V8, but still churns out 331kW and a whopping 600Nm. The torque figure is a massive jump of 170Nm over the old car and is available from 1900 to 5000rpm.
Plugged into the V6 is the awesome ZF eight-speed, replacing the previous car’s twin-clutch. It’s a fast-shifting monster of a transmission that seems able to cope with anything.
As you might expect, the RS version of the quattro system gets the power to the ground, with an electronically locking diff out the back. A centre diff shuffles the power front to rear. In normal driving, power is rear-biased with a 40:60 front-rear split, rising as high as 15:85.
You can also go for a sports rear diff on the RS5.
0-100km/h times differ slightly between the two – the coupe wins the race with 3.9 seconds versus the Avant’s 4.1. That’s a pretty narrow gap.
There’s not much point in giving you my fuel figures, which were in the mid-teens. These cars were driven hard for the video and it would be unfair to suggest that’s the day-to-day figure you will see. It’s a very good engine and you should manage 10L/100km in normal driving.
The fuel tank is the same size between the two at 58 litres.
Chassis
Unlike what I said in the video (because I’m an idiot), both cars are spun off the MLBEvo platform. Audi builds the A4, A5, Q5, A6, Q7 and Q8 on this platform. As always, there is plenty of aluminium. Audi reckons the weight saving over the previous RS4 Avant is up to 80kg, but some of that will be the engine’s lower mass.
The Avant rides on a longer wheelbase and is obviously a bit longer and a scooch taller.
Both cars feature dynamic ride control (dynamic damping to me and you), controlled through the usual Audi Drive select mechanism. You can stick with the Audi settings or go with your own combination in the individual setting. I’m increasingly finding that in Dynamic modes that OEMs are setting the steering too heavy so I dial it back to comfort.
I can’t say I’m in love with dynamic steering, but I don’t hate it either. It works quite well on track but really it’s just a bit of a gimmick that doesn’t add or detract from the experience.
Both also run on the same size tyres, 275/30s front and rear. The cars I had on test ran on different brands, though – the 5 was on Pirelli P Zero rubber and the 4 on Hankook Ventus. Audi doesn’t always specify single brands of tyre on its cars, but I’m not sure if that necessarily applies to these models.
Driving
RS5 Coupe
This is the real deal, right here. The cars are both loaded with stuff and price-wise, there’s not a lot to choose from them. Circumstances or personal preferences – or both – have lead you to decide on one over the other. But you want to know – just how different are they?
The RS5 obviously has the edge for fun driving. With a shorter wheelbase and a slightly lighter frame, it’s a blast. I really enjoyed the RS5 on The Bend racetrack and out on the road I was even more impressed (you can watch the RS5 bit here)(if only to look at my track face)(in an ill-fitting helmet).
On the road, all the things that were good about the RS5 on the track translated beautifully to the road. The track is obviously like glass, so the ride was never going to be an issue, but on that bumpy chunky road we used, the RS5 handled it beautifully. I was hugely impressed with the way it rode the bumps and handled the nonsense dished up by one of my favourite roads.
But like the track, the way it turns in, with the rear playing along with you, is delicious. You can carry so much speed into and through the corner, with the rear diff letting you have a bit of fun on the corner exit. You have to be pushing hard to get understeer and even then, it’s soft rather than a sudden plough.
And it sounds fantastic. No, it’s not a V8 burble rising to a roar, but the V6 is tuned to sound great, with a lovely cough on the upshift and some popping on the way down. Without being obnoxious.
On the highway, the Hankook Ventus tyres are a bit rackety and the ride is slightly busier than the Avant’s, but that’s to be expected. And it beats long distances into submission.
RS4 Avant
Two corners in and I was surprised. I knew the cars wouldn’t be that far apart, but the RS4 Avant is very, very close. You can really hold the speed in longer corners in the RS4 with even more confidence, the longer wheelbase delivering a bit more stability. You can cover a lot of ground very quickly in the RS4 and do it comfortably.
At the same time, you can fire this thing down a twisting road and have so much fun that you won’t feel like you’ve lost too much in the transition to family practicality. The steering is great, with just enough feel and wonderful directness. It’s almost like everything is one or two percent off the RS5, just to wind it back a bit.
You can see that the Avant rolls a tiny bit more in the corners, but you don’t feel that from inside. It’s so good.
Competitors
There’s not a lot around that is anything like these two. BMW has nothing at the moment, the closest thing would be the M340i xDrive sedan. BMW won’t be doing an M3 Touring (at the moment anyway) and the 4 Series is still miles away. And it looks like it has an Edsel grille. So, uh, yeah.
Thankfully, BMW-affiliated tuner Alpina has thrown the S58 under the 3 Series’ bonnet to make the B3, available in both sedan and Touring body styles. That car won’t be here until the second half of 2020 and it won’t be the sharp tool that is an RS.
Over at Mercedes, there’s the clutch of C63 S AMGs. They’ve got a twin-turbo V8 with more power and torque but aren’t hugely faster in a straight line. They are, of course, rear-wheel drive and an absolute hoot. They use a lot more fuel and servicing is scary-expensive. Pricing starts at $162,542 for the sedan, rising to $165,142 for the wagon and $167,642 for the coupe.
Redline Recommendation
Well, they’re both good, aren’t they? Excellent, in fact. If you watch the video – and you should – you’ll see how much fun I had in these cars. They’re not as playful as the BMW or AMG rivals, but they’re properly fast and more comfortable than either of those. Although we are impatiently waiting for the G20-based BMW counterparts.
I was amazed at how close the two cars were and hugely impressed. Yes, the RS5 is sharper everywhere, but you want to know what you’re losing going to the Avant.
It’s not enough to be worried about.
There is, however, one more thing. The RS5 Sportback. Stay tuned.
The Alfa Romeo 4C was a sort of follow-up to the brand building 8C. Tiny, mid-engined, McLaren-style carbon fibre tub, it had pedigree. And weird, weird looks.
I was really excited about this car. For any and varied reasons, I missed out when the car first launched in Australia. I was excited because this car was technically interesting and I was at its launch at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. I also thought it was a deeply odd car for Alfa Romeo to be making.
At that time, the range was in decline – no more GTV, Spider or Brera and the beautiful 159 was also gone. The company was making the MiTo and the Giulietta. Two, small, front-wheel drive hatchbacks with Fiat underpinnings and nothing else. It was all a bit sad.
So what did the powers that were decide to build? A mid-engined sports car with a carbon-fibre tub and wacky styling. Completely mad.
Words: Peter Anderson Images: Rhys Vandersyde, InSyde Media
Well, the present tense is a dangerous thing, as is not reviewing cars as soon as you hand them back. One thing you’ll notice from the photo is that it had been raining in Sydney. That rarely happens, so it was a while ago, which is mildly shameful.
Anyway, there are three Alfa Romeo 4C models – the coupe, spider and the Competizione. The coupe starts at a not-unreasonable $89,000, with a $10,000 price rise to the Spider. The (even more) madcap Competizione jumps to $119,900.
Standard specification includes remote central locking, 17-inch alloys at the front and 18-inch at the rear, leather seats and steering wheel, four-speaker Alpine stereo, air-conditioning, rear parking sensors, cruise control, LED headlights, launch control, sports seats and a tyre repair kit.
The majestic gunmetal Basalt Grey ($2000 option) car you see here is the Spider. Just for fun, it also had a $12,000 Racing package fitted, which I cannot recommend if you fancy using this car as a daily driver. You get even stiffer suspension, Pirelli tyres on up-sized 18-inch (front) and 19-inch (rear) wheels and a racing exhaust.
Warranty and Servicing
Warranty: 3 years/150,000km
Startlingly, I’m not going to rag on how short is the warranty on the 4C. I mean, it’s short and for $90,000-plus it should be better, but this isn’t a car for normal people. It isn’t even a car for normal Alfisti. It’s a car for lunatics, the sort of nutters who would buy a Lotus Elise. It’s that kind of car. So while it should be a minimum of five years, it isn’t and I can’t see anybody caring too much.
Capped-price servicing: Yes, $6675 over five years. Service intervals: 12 months/15,000km
So this is deeply unusual. Alfa offers 4C owners five years/75,000km (whichever comes first) of capped-price servicing. Now, don’t get me wrong – it’s not cheap, not by a long shot – but at least you know what you’re up for. One of the worst things about cars like these is the hidden running costs and servicing is one of them.
The first, third and fifth services are an eye-catching $895, the second an eye-watering $1495, the fourth a whopping $2495. That’s $6675 over five years or $1335 per year on average. Ow. That’s AMG-level pricing, but again, this is no ordinary car so it’s to be expected. To be fair, it’s probably a bastard to work on.
Look and Feel
Nasty headlights attached, 2013
The 4C is tiny, mid-engined sports car, but boy is it wide – 1868mm, to be exact. It’s almost half as wide as it is long (3990mm), so it looks pretty aggro, particularly as it’s just 1184mm high. The headlights are, thankfully, not the horrific spider’s eye jobs that turned up in Geneva.
As a Spider, it does quite a good job of looking like the coupe, with just the section between the roll hoop and the windscreen header rail left unfilled. Look closely enough at the coupe and you’ll see it’s really just the Spider with a cap on.
Only problem is, the roof is a pain to get on and off, again, much like the Elise’s. There’s a series of levers and slots and you have to get the leading edge into a slot, but it kind of overflows at the sides so it looks like it’s not on properly. Obviously, as an owner, you’ll work it out pretty sharpish, but you have to commit.
110 litre boot / Flat bottomed wheels make the scenery go round / Digital dashboard / Centre console / Lurid red seats
Interior
Thankfully, the 110-litre boot can hold the roof without drama (and there are no extra bits floating around) and you can also fit another squishy bag in there. Or a helmet.
Look closely and you’ll see bits of carbon fibre everywhere. Some of it is just trimming, but around the sills and the floor, that’s the structure of the car. It’s an interesting move to leave it open for all to see, but it does have its drawback.
Some of the interior parts are clearly straight out of something else and the handbrake is way too high. What matters most is that the sets are comfortable if not at all photogenic. The Alpine head unit is ludicrously painful to use and Alfa really should update the dash design to fit a proper screen. But they won’t, because the axe fell on the 4C in late 2019.
Overall it’s pretty sparse, but apart from the stereo, everything does its job well. Actually, the digital dashboard is a bit of a mess until you go into Race mode and even then it’s a bit 1980s computer game.
The sill is a bit of a pain to get over, but you soon learn to drop your backside in first, then swing in. No worse than an Evora and way better than a BMW i8 or Lamborghini Aventador.
Once you’re in it’s reasonably spacious. I didn’t knock elbows with any of the various passengers who came with me. Photographer Rhys, who is A Big Unit, was actually able to drive this car. He couldn’t even get into the Elise and the image of him and sometime co-pilot Steve in the Aventador never fails to make me howl with laughter.
There are cupholders but they’re in a dumb spot. Problem is, it’s the only spot in such a tight cabin. Still, there are other factors at play that lead me to suggest leaving the liquids at home.
Drivetrain
Hard up against the cabin’s rear bulkhead is one of the Fiat group’s miraculous turbo four-cylinder turbo engines. At 1742cc, the internet appears divided as to whether to call it a 1.7-litre or 1.8. Round to the nearest single decimal, folks.
No matter, it develops 177kW and 350Nm, which is pretty good for an engine of this size.
The same engine is in the Giulietta, except the 4C packs an aluminium block rather than a heavier cast-iron one. Peak power arrives at 6000rpm while the torque is available from 2200-4250rpm, falling off as you head to the 6000-plus redline.
As with the Giulietta, you get a seven-speed TCT (twin-clutch) transmission operated by steering wheel-mounted paddles and driving the rear wheels.
Alfa says you’ll crack 100km/h in 4.5 seconds – the Race pack is no quicker, just louder.
It’s a characterful engine, with tons of whooshing and huffing and puffing, which I quite like. It’s a pity it’s drowned out by the sometimes-harsh exhaust noise.
Official fuel economy: 6.8L/100km Real world: 9.8L/100km
The 4C has a tiny 40-litre tank which you have to fill with 98 RON premium unleaded. Alfa claims a combined cycle figure of just 6.8L/100km.
Chassis
On your driveway, the Alfa Romeo 4C weighs 1025kg (tare, for some reason). Its dry weight is an astonishing 895kg. Just 52kg of that is the carbon fibre tub around which the car is built. Staggering.
Brakes come from Brembo, with four pot calipers gripping 305mm discs at the front and fewer pots the 292mm rears.
The Race Pack rolls on 18-inch wheels in front of you and 19-inch behind you, with a “track-biased” set of Pirellis P-Zeros (205/40 front, 235/35 rear). The rubber wears AR Racing stamps, so one expects they are stickies as specified by Alfa.
Driving
Once again, I’m not going to recommend the Race Pack. I’m going to get all the bad stuff out of the way first so I leave you with a fair impression.
The 4C is really loud with the optional exhaust. Like, really loud. The entire cabin buzzes and because a lot of it is (gorgeous) exposed carbon fibre, the sound pings around like a ricochet in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. The ride isn’t great, either, so you’re dodging potholes to save your spine and tooth fillings. Rough roads fill your ears with noise and nonsense and the steering is really vague on-centre, which is weird because it’s unassisted.
Did I mention it’s too loud? It’s too loud. And you can’t see a damn thing about the back and because there’s no reversing camera, you become crunchaphobic and and a terrible parker. At least in the few days I had it anyway.
Right. I think that’s the worst of it.
When you have the 4C on the right stretch of road, with the right density of ear plug, you are going to love it pieces. Because all of the elements come together into a car that feels like a supercar.
Strong brakes with excellent feel that allow you to place the car where you want in a corner. The brake pedal is soft at the top like a McLaren’s, so learn to love left-foot braking and you will love the way the 4C.
Brilliant steering that once you’re off-centre is more eloquent about the road surface than Clive James on poetry. While you will need to bulk up a bit if you want to survive more than twenty minutes on a twisting road, the lack of assistance means you’re in complete control and know exactly what’s coming.
The chassis is incredibly neutral, like a really well done all-wheel drive car. In the dry, you will only understeer when you’re really pushing your luck or of the road surface is terrible. Kicking out the tail requires commitment, but when you do, it’s easy to control. Well, most of the time.
On my favourite bit of road, something kept happening. The 4C would grip and grip and grip and then suddenly the rear would break free. It wasn’t violent but it wasn’t fun, either, and a quick lift settled everything down. But it didn’t inspire confidence and with not a lot of room for error, it meant backing off and calming down. On a racetrack you wouldn’t care, because there’s not much to hit, but out in the bush, there’s plenty.
So, yeah, it was hard to love.
Competition
Lotus Elise / Alpine A110
The obvious one that I keep mentioning is the two-decade young Lotus Elise. The Elise range starts at $87,990 (plus ORC) for the Sport 220. Powered by a 1.8-litre supercharged Toyota engine, it’s got 162kW and 250Nm. It’s barely slower to 100km/h and has a similarly sparse and dorky interior. Jump to the Cup 250 ($107,990) and get 181kW, but no more torque. Most of the rest of the money goes to the chassis and aero. Lotuses now have three years free servicing and a three-year warranty. And a proper six-speed manual.
From Renaultsport is the Alpine A110, starting at $99,000 for the Pure and rising to $104,000 for the Légende. Like the Lotus and the Alfa, it’s a mid-engined, rear-drive sports car. Similar to the 4C, it has a seven-speed automatic and a powerful turbo four-cylinder (185kW/320Nm). Like the Elise it has an aluminium chassis and wil crack 100km/h in about the same time as the 4C. You get a three-year warranty which includes two years of unlimited kilometres but if you keep it under 100,000km you’ll get the full three. That’s, uh, odd. Not odd is the three years of servicing that totals $2340, or $780 per year. Not bad at all, but not as good as the Lotus’ service deal. The A110 has a proper interior, a decent central media screen and even has a front boot.
Redline Recommendation
As dumb as this car is, I did quite enjoy it. But, reader, I cannot lie, I would not buy one. There are way too many compromises and its operating window is so narrow that it’s hard to justify. Like the Giulia, it requires such a smooth surface to get the best of it, it’s a race-track only proposition in Race Pack trim. Yeah, you can drive it around, but it will wear you down in a way other cars won’t.
It’s definitely one for the purists. I’m an ex-owner of an Alfa Romeo, so I know what it’s like to buy a silly car that will delight and disappoint all at the same time. I reckon I also have a pretty high tolerance for flaws – the first-gen Fiesta ST interior, the X4 M‘s styling and hard ride – but a Race Pack-equipped 4C is a bridge too far.
Having said that, if it meant the 4C’s ultimate salvation, yes, I would buy it. Because giant car companies should make stupid cars like this. Renault makes the Alpine and various huge companies have owned Lotus. I’d even throw the Hyundai Veloster into that list because it’s so wilfully odd. The world needs cars like the 4C and it’s awful that Alfa has axed it and it doesn’t look like another company will be able to buy the tooling and keep it going under another banner.
Prologue
Some time after I drove the 4C, I found out that the right rear damper was stuffed. I don’t know if it was buggered when I drove it, but that might explain its weird behaviour.
The Hyundai Kona Electric arrived in 2019 to add to the Korean company’s trio of electrified Ioniqs.Promising Tesla-like 440km-plus range and a price tag to beat it, Hyundai joined the EV big league.
Hyundai never, ever fails to surprise me. I owned two in the 1990s when they went through a brief purple patch with the Lantra and Coupe (Do. Not. Judge. Me.). The Lantra was surprisingly good and nothing broke while the Coupe often broke and had terrible paint but I loved it anyway.
The last ten years have seen a steady, inexorable rise to meet the challenge of 21st-century motoring. With the Ioniqs three, Hyundai had a solid grip on a city EV, a very good grip on a plug-in hybrid and a Prius-strangling series hybrid. Boring, not great to look at (the MY20 update is slightly better), but Hyundai showed it wasn’t messing about.
After the huge distraction of the i30 N hot hatch and Fastback, the compact SUV Kona scored a full EV drivetrain. It changed just about everything we know about the electric vehicle market.
Words: Peter Anderson Images: Rhys Vandersyde Co-pilot: Todd Fletcher
How much is the Hyundai Kona Electric and what do I get?
Pricing(December 2019) Hyundai Kona EV Elite: $59,990 Hyundai Kona EV Highlander: $64,990
You have a choice of two Kona EVs, as it happens. The “entry-level” Elite costs a stout $59,900 while the Highlander I had for a week stings you $64,990. For comparison, the bottom-of-the-range Kona Go is $24,000 while the turbocharged all-wheel drive Highlander is $39,990.
It’s a lot, but we’ll talk about why it isn’t really a bit later. It would be great if EVs were cheaper, but the less you spend, the fewer kilometres you will cover. It’s going to get better, though, so if you don’t have sixty-large, sit tight for a few more years.
The Highlander lands with 17-inch alloys, an eight-speaker stereo, climate control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, pretty much everything is electric, sat nav, LED headlights, fake leather interior (nothing wrong with that), head up display, auto wipers and headlights, Qi wireless charging, sunroof, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated and cooled front seats, active cruise control and a heated steering wheel.
And instead of a spare tyre, you get a tyre repair kit. Gotta put the batteries somewhere.
Do you need all the Highlander’s extra stuff? Not really. Most of it is just cosmetic or luxury stuff like the sunroof or the wireless charging. The latter is a bit pointless because you don’t get wireless CarPlay, so, you know.
The Elite misses out on front parking sensors (honestly, you don’t need them in the Kona), auto high-beam, keyless entry, the screen is an inch smaller, the front seats aren’t electrically adjustable, there’s no head-up display and there are some either minor spec differences. You get a lot of stuff for the money when you remember this is an EV with a good range.
Safety: 5 stars (ANCAP, October 2019).
The Kona Electric has six airbags, blind-spot monitoring, forward collision warning, forward AEB (high and low-speed) with pedestrian detection, active cruise, front and rear parking sensors, lane keep assist, lane departure warning and reverse cross-traffic alert.
The Elite’s safety package is identical.
The Kona EV holds the distinction of the first electric car ever crash tested here in Australia by ANCAP.
Warranty and Servicing
Warranty: 5 years/unlimited km Battery Warranty: 8 years/160,000km
The standard Hyundai new car warranty applies to the Kona electric, with a separate warranty for the battery. It’s still pretty early in the car’s life to know if there are any persistent or common problems, but most EV owners wax lyrical about their cars, so they’re less likely to broadcast drama. Tesla owners are the most patient people I know.
However, given this one is going to appeal more mainstream buyers – a bit like the Nissan Leaf – I wonder if people will be more willing to get cranky if they feel the Kona doesn’t meet expectations.
Hyundai offers two ways to pay for maintenance. If you pay up-front for pre-paid servicing, you can roll the cost into your finance (if you have any). Otherwise you can keep checking back on the website (when they fix it) to see the costs associated with the Lifetime Service Plan program.
Whatever happens, every time you service the car at a Hyundai dealer you get another 12 months on roadside assist.
Look and Feel
At first glance, it’s obviously a Kona.
Inside and out, though, you’re left with little doubt that this is the Kona Electric. For a start you have the two-tone colour scheme, different front and rear bumpers and that wacky, blanked-out grille. The wheels are also weird-looking. All of those things add up to a lower drag coefficient to make the car slippery through the air and use less juice.
The Kona EV also has its own set of colours – Phantom Black, Galactic Grey, Ceramic Blue (pictured), Pulse Red, Lake Silver and Chalk White. Only that last colour is a freebie, the rest are a teeth-grinding $595.
The interior architecture is mostly the same as other Konas, barring the new centre console. The drive selector is a funny-looking cluster of buttons that look like afterthoughts. It’s as though the designers forgot to put something there. The new console also has a storage tray underneath because there’s nothing in the way.
As with other Konas, you get four cupholders (two upfront, two in the back), a storage bin under the armrest and big door pockets. The rear doors have small bottle holders, too.
Boot space is 39 fewer litres than the ICE cars, with 332 litres, which isn’t a lot. Also remember there’s no spare under there, it’s all Li-ion batteries. Having said that, 39 litres is going to make or break this as a load lugger, is it? You can drop the rear seats for more space, rising to 1114 litres.
Kona Electric Drivetrain
Weird drive select buttons
Rather amusingly, the Kona’s electric heart is dressed up to look like an engine. That’s weird.
The Kona’s electric motor sends power to the front wheels only (boo!) via a single-speed transmission. With 150kW and a massive 395Nm of torque on tap. That’s almost as much as, say, a BMW Z4 30i. Both figures are available from zero rpm, obviously.
More to the point, no other compact SUV on the market has this kind of poke except maybe for the Audi Q2, and even then…
Battery and charging
A 356-volt lithium-ion polymer battery pack lives under the car with a 64kWh capacity. On the WLTP (or more snappily, Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure) cycle, the Kona scored an astonishing 449km of range.
WLTP is a good measure because it’s much closer to real life and actually takes into account driving the car for longer than 13 minutes on a rolling road where Volkswagen got itself into trouble.
To charge the battery, you have the usual options. At home it will take a day or so to get to 80 percent if you charge from flat to full. With the optional wallbox and onboard 7.2kW charger, that drops to about nine and a half hours.
If you can find a 50kW charger, you’ll get 0-80 percent in 75 minutes and 54 minutes if you score a 100kW charger. Good luck. But the key here is that the Kona is ready for those fast-charger boxes.
If you look closely at the photo of the engine, you’ll see an old-fashioned 12-volt battery sitting next to the motor. That’s because the Kona Electric is based on a standard internal combustion-engined (ICE) platform. It made me laugh, but it means Hyundai didn’t have to completely re-engineer the car’s electrical system.
This is the best bit. Hyundai has always been pretty good with its claimed fuel figures in its petrol and diesel cars. Always within about 10 or 15 percent where most carmakers are off by around 30 percent. Some even more, way more. NEDC figures are laughably off-beam, so it’s safe to disregard them. Hyundai pretty much does, too, which is heartening. More carmakers need to make sensible choices like that.
Even so, I thought 449km was going to stretch the truth a fair bit.
I had the car for a week and absolutely drove the wheels off the thing. I still managed 412km on the full charge it came with, with range to spare. That means I was using about 15kWh/100km, which is damn close to the WLTP figure. On a 30c/kWh tariff, that’s about $4.50 of power for every 100km. Contrast that with a Kona Active’s average of about 8.9L/100km and do that at a very generous $1.20 per litre, that’s $10.68 per 100km.
Do the sums over 15,000km per year and it’s a saving of $927 at the generous $1.20 figure. The real figure will be more because that’s rare and if you go with a certain power company, they’ll give you unlimited charging for $1/day at home. If you’ve got solar, then the savings will be greater again.
Driving
“I spy with my little eye…” / Energy recovery setting
I really like the standard Kona. I ran one for six months as a long-term test car for carsguide. It was a terrific car, even though it was a bit slow. Handled well, space for my family, decent boot. All that normal stuff.
The Kona Electric is one of the shrewdest moves Hyundai has ever made. The SUV market is going bananas so that’s a no-brainer. It’s a normal car for normal people, you just don’t fill it with fuel.
But to drop a car in the market with a genuinely massive range that silences even the most committed range anxiety adherents is brilliant. Range anxiety is a genuine thing – my wife won’t drive the i3 far if it isn’t the REX and panics when an ICE car drops to a quarter full. Something to do with her dad always running out of petrol because he’s a goose.
You don’t have to worry about that so much in the Kona. With such a long range, most people will only have to charge it once per week. Or, if you’re sensible, just plug it into the mains every night. It’s really about habit.
Anyway.
The Kona is one of the most capable urban cars I’ve driven. It’s fast off the line, meaning you can get ahead of traffic easily. That first jump is impressive and you never get bored of the shove from the traffic lights.
Like the i3 and Leaf, the Kona recovers energy when you lift off the throttle. You’ll find paddles on the Kona’s steering wheel. Obviously, given it’s a single-speed reduction gear, you’re not changing gears. What it does is change how aggressively the electric motor recovers energy. You have three settings to choose from and I always go for the most hardcore. You can then pretty much drive the car on the throttle pedal. It’s a lot of fun (hey, don’t judge me) working out when you lift off to roll the car to a stop at the lights or stop sign.
The standard Kona is pretty handy in the bends and the electric is even better. Probably partly to do with the way you can slingshot out of corners with that huge slab of torque. The steering is really good, just enough life to let you know what’s going on and the suspension soaks up the bumps beautifully.
Even though it runs on very tall sidewalls (215/55), the car has plenty of grip and rides really well. It walks a pretty good line between comfort and handling, like just about every Hyundai on sale today.
There’s not much to grip about – I’d like better tyres on it, but that would slightly increase consumption with the grip. Bigger wheels would also increase power consumption, but with such a long, dependable range, it can cope. I would also like it to look a little less electric-ey both inside and out. I reckon the interior is a bit chintzy with all the silver buttons everywhere.
Competitors
Nissan Leaf / Jaguar I-PACE (not really)
Electric isn’t cheap, I don’t care what anyone says. You can’t scream blue murder about this kind of pricing when there is nothing else like it on the market. Punters want SUVs and the next cheapest SUV is the Jaguar I-PACE, closely matched (in price) by the Tesla Model X. Both are completely different cars and twice the price. Neither can really cover the number of miles of the Kona and probably should, given the price differential.
Deep breath – the Tesla Model 3 is about $3000 more than the Kona Electric. Tesla claims a range of 460km on the NEDC cycle, so you can comfortably knock 80-100km off that. It is faster than the Kona to 100km/h by two full seconds. You also have no idea when you’ll get, tiny dealership network and you might get a car built well or not well at all. Luck of the draw. By all accounts, it’s a great car to drive, but in its basic form, is probably not going to get the job done the way the Kona does. Spend another $18,000 for the Long Range and you’ll leapfrog the Kona. The Tesla Model 3 is a good car. Whether it’s a good car for you in its basic form is up to you.
Next up is the second-generation Nissan Leaf. I’m not going to pretend it’s the world’s most interesting car, but it’s not a bad choice. It’s $49,990, so an easy $10,000 cheaper than the Kona Elite, but has a shorter range (270km). It’s well-specced, though.
Then there’s the hilarious little Renault Zoe, complete with the Jetson’s pedestrian warning sound. I really quite like the wee beastie, but it has a real-world range of 300km. Renault’s claimed figure of 400km with the ZE 4 battery set is a little optimistic. It costs about the same as the Leaf, which is mildly disappointing, but I reckon it looks better.
Redline Recommendation
There’s nothing fancy about all this – it’s a sensible, low-risk, low complexity approach. It’s not a technological tour-de-force like the Tesla, but we all know how that’s worked out for them. Hyundai has a huge dealer network, a long-term commitment to the Australian market and an excellent warranty and servicing package.
This car changed a few minds – one of my regular co-pilots, Mark, drove the Kona and couldn’t believe how much fun it was. He’s not on board with electric cars but the Kona might just have started the process of changing his mind.
This is the electric car I would buy today – my heart would be screaming BMW i3 S, but my head knows the Kona Electric is the best (silent) bang for your buck you can buy.
The Mazda 3 G20 is the starter engine for the new-generation hatch and sedan range from Mazda. After weathering attacks from Hyundai and Toyota, is the latest 3 a star?
The Mazda3 is one of the breakout cars of the last decade. After a long, long period in the styling wilderness, the first-generation landed looking great and packing plenty of gear.
And I hated it. I truly hated it. I owned an SP23 sedan for nine months (with dodgy Bose pack) and begged someone to set fire to it so I could get the insurance. In the end, BMW relieved me of it for about what I had paid for it (right?). I didn’t miss it.
Lucky for me, Mazda is a persistent bunch of folks. I’ve driven just about every 3 since 2014 and they just get better and better. And finally, in 2019, the fourth-generation Mazda 3 landed and it was good. And given the competition, it has to be damn good to make a mark.
How much is the Mazda 3 G20 Evolve and what do I get?
The Mazda 3 range consists of four trim levels and three engines. The G20 in the name tells you it has a 114kW 2.0-litre engine and you can have a six-speed automatic or manual transmission.
If you pick an Evolve G20, you’ll get a head-up display (fancy!), 18-inch alloys, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, radar cruise control, dual-zone climate control, cloth trim, leather steering wheel and shifter, eight-speaker stereo with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a big 8.8-inch MZD Connect screen with sat nav.
Colours include blue, black, the grandly-titled Titanium Flash, two greys, the gorgeous Soul Red, silver and a white pearl. There seems to be a mission creep on the premium colours – Soul Red, Machine Grey and Polymetal Grey are now $495, quite a bit more than before. Never mind, it’s still a good price for paint this good – the Soul Red is so, so pretty.
Safety – 5 Stars (ANCAP, May 2019)
The Mazda 3 has a five-star ANCAP safety rating for all variants.
All G20s have seven airbags, forward and reverse AEB, forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, reversing camera and rear cross-traffic alert.
Spend another $1500 for the Vision Package and you’ll pick-up stop and go functionality on the active cruise control, an around-view camera, driver monitoring, front cross-traffic alert, paddle shifters on the auto and added front parking sensors.
Warranty and Servicing
Warranty: five years/unlimited km
A five-year warranty with unlimited mileage brings Mazda into line with just about every mainstream manufacturer that isn’t German or Kia. The company had to be dragged kicking and screaming to it, but it’s done and it’s good.
Mazda also broke and added five years of roadside assist. Excellent stuff.
Fixed Price Servicing: 12 months/10,000km $1635 for first five services(December 2019)
The 12 months bit is good, the 10,000km is not so good. It kind of messes up working out the annual running cost because 10,000km is about nine months motoring for the average Australian family.
At least you know how much you’re up for and the Mazda website breaks down exactly what you get for your money. Services one, three and five cost $309 and the other two are $354, so you know in advance and don’t have to pay upfront when you buy the car. Mazda also outlines extras like brake fluid ($68) and cabin air filter ($92), so it’s all very thorough.
Look and Feel
Pretty interior / Very pretty lights / Extremely pretty taillights / House and car. For some reason.
One of the greatest things about the fourth-gen Mazda 3 is that it looks and feels amazing inside and out. And for the first time, the hatch is the one to get. Everything about it is cool, from the evolved look of the front end to the unique backside that had everyone talking at launch.
Those rear lights look amazing and really set the car apart in a fairly me-too part of the market. Mazda is developing an Audi-like obsession with lighting and I am absolutely on board with that.
The cabin looks terrific, too. The new MZD Connect screen is packed with features and has a lovely big rotary dial on the centre console to control it. Mazda has ditched touchscreens, saying they’re too distracting. You get CarPlay and Android Auto as well as the usual AM/FM and DAB as an added bonus.
I really like the cloth trim in the car, too (not pictured). It looks good, feels good but if you spill something on it, you can wipe it straight off.
The only real downside with the hatch is the tiny boot. With just 295 litres, packing stuff in is tricky if it’s bulky. If you need more space, perhaps the Evolve sedan is for you. What isn’t better in the sedan is the legroom. The Mazda 3 has always been a bit tight in the back and the fourth-gen is still not overly-generous. Better than a Corolla, though.
You get four cupholders and bottle holders and up front you get a USB charger for your phone.
Drivetrain
2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated, direct-injection petrol
Mazda seems to slap a SkyActiv badge on everything, but it started with the engine. In the G20, as the name suggests, you get a 2.0-litre four-cylinder. With 114kW and 200Nm, you have yourself a very normal car. Not fast, not slow.
It is quieter these days, which is a blessing. Mazda doesn’t really do small-capacity turbo engines (yet), so it’s 2.0 or 2.5-litre engines for the moment. A SkyActiv-X that uses a mix of spark and compression ignition is on the way. It’s supercharged, but only so it can get that dizzying compression ratio rather than outright grunt.
The automatic transmission is a six-speed from Aisin (if you must know). The Mazda 3 is resolutely front-wheel drive these days.
Official fuel economy (automatic): 6.2L/100km (Vision Package)/6.4L/100km Real world: 9.1L/100km
Manufacturer’s figures are always a bit squiffy, but that’s only one reason it’s a bit over. The other you’ll find out about in the Driving section. With a 51-litre fuel tank, you’ll be reasonably familiar with your local servo, but not extravagantly so.
And as it’s Japanese and non-turbo, you only have to run the 3 on standard unleaded.
Chassis
Being a normal hatchback, there are the usual MacPherson struts up front and torsion beams in the rear. Nothing to see here, nothing to worry about. The old car had a multi-link rear end but they’re expensive and the vast majority of buyers don’t care.
Mazda includes something nifty called G-Vectoring Control (GVC). A few cars here and there have torque vectoring and VW, for instance, calls it “XDL”. Those systems generally use the brakes to nip the brake on the inside wheel to help tighten the car’s line through a corner, or reduce understeer.
GVC is different. Instead of using the brakes, it briefly – and smoothly – cuts the ignition. This shifts the weight forward to the front wheels. This in turn makes the car feel like it’s biting the road a bit harder. The idea is to make the experience feel more natural.
Mazda reckons they studied the way humans move under their own steam and then looked at the way race drivers will lift off before a corner. It’s very clever but the upshot is, it’s not as clumsy as brake-based torque vectoring. You don’t even know it’s happening. It’s nice. And it means whether you care or not, the 3 feels more secure in your hands.
Mazda also thinks that the momentary forward pitch tells your body that something is about to happen. That way, it’s more prepared for the change and (apparently) can reduce motion sickness. Sure, why not?
Driving
I won’t mess about, I really like the way the Mazda 3 drives. There’s a proper fluidity to the way it rides and handles that makes the car feel so much more expensive than it really is.
The “worst” bit about the G20 Evolve is the engine. While 2.0-litre 3s of the past were a bit gaspy, this one seems to mask that a bit better. It’s not going to win you any races at all – unless you’re after the wooden spoon – but it will easily keep up with traffic.
Well, I say easily. I had to pedal it a bit hard, which explains the solid miss on the fuel figures.
The other drama is that fat C-pillar. You can’t see much out the back when you’re in tight spaces, so the standard reversing camera isn’t generous, it’s a requirement. Still, given how good it looks, I’m happy to live with the compromise.
Urban driving is where the G20 is most suited. While it will happily drone along a motorway for hours on end, overtaking will be a pain – especially if you’re loaded up – and bigger hills will mean the transmission will find a lower gear and settle in.
You can forgive all of that, though. The steering is absolutely bang-on – great weight, good feel and the nose does what you ask of it. You can send it into corners pretty quickly, the brakes will join the party and the G-Vectoring ensures it’s a smooth transition from entry to apex to exit. It’s terrific fun, but I reckon the G20 would be way more fun in manual.
Competitors
There’s a lot going on here. You can forget about the current Volkswagen Golf, it’s way older, costs more and is about to be replaced. Unless you’re desperate for a bargain, dizzying depreciation, dumb servicing costs and indifferent dealers, it’s not a match for the 3. It’s certainly not a bad car, but it’s hard to recommend today.
The Kia Cerato is moving pretty quickly, largely because it’s cheaper. It has plenty of gear and a pretty big interior but can’t match the 3 for safety equipment or driving dynamics. A good car, though, and it has a seven-year warranty.
Hyundai’s i30 has been my benchmark for a couple of years now. It was my go-to car for the segment, especially the N-Line version with the 1.6-litre turbo engine and locally-tuned chassis. Timid-looking, though and hasn’t got the interior quality of the 3. Excellent car, sharply-priced along with a good warranty and capped-price servicing package.
The name might have been around forever but the new Corolla is finally a car you can compare like-for-like. The old car was a duffer to drive with a rubbish CVT, breathless engines and dire technology inclusions. Sold like mad, for reasons I’m not clear on. The new car is way better, based on the TNGA platform and is even nice to drive, despite the CVT. Not as nice as the 3, though – the Corolla is still a basic car. Cheaper servicing ($180 each and every time for the first five services up to 75,000km) and a similar warranty makes it a close run thing on paper. But the 3 is better to drive and better-looking with more interior space for people.
Redline Recommendation
If it was my money, the Mazda 3 G20 Evolve is not the one I would choose. Forgetting that for a moment, it has plenty going for it – smooth, quiet, fun to drive and reasonable value, even if you’re paying a bit extra for its undeniable style.
This is the first Mazda 3 I would cheerfully own and definitely the first time I would choose the hatch.
But really, if you can afford a G25 – or forthcoming SkyActiv X – then stretch to that. Otherwise, as I’ve already said, the 3 is very hard to beat.
BMW’s high-riding X4 M is a fast SUV coupe with a belter of an engine strapped into a polarising chassis to match its looks.
Look, I’ll come clean with you. I do not like the look of the BMW X4. The great thing about driving an ugly car, though, is that you don’t have to look at it. Beauty, as ever, is on the inside. And so I was pretty excited to get my hands on the S58-powered X4.
You see, the X4 is based on the X3, a car I drove in M40i guise and liked very much indeed. It’s fast, fun, and here in Australia, a bargain for what you get.
There is, of course, the X3 M (review soon) and but first, we have the inexplicably popular swoopy version.
Words: Peter Anderson Images: Mr Black
How much is the X4 M and what do I get?
Chunky M wheel / Merino leather / Adaptive LED headlights
Price before on-roads: $164,900 (December 2019)
We’re quite lucky here in the Antipodes. Well, more accurately, we like the full-fat version of everything, so we only get the X4 M Competition (same with the X3), priced at $164,900. For comparison, the X3 M is seven grand cheaper at $157,900.
Overseas buyers can choose an X4 M with “only” 353kW. Slumming it, they are.
Bear in mind, this is a full-on M-car with all the M goodies as well as a metric ton of standard equipment, something BMW is getting better at as the days go by. The recent announcement that you don’t have to subscribe for Apple CarPlay might be a small matter, but believe me, that really stuck in my craw.
You get a mostly-digital dash, big central touchscreen, leather all over the seats, professional sat nav, Comfort Access (BMW-talk for a package of stuff including keyless entry and start and the seats remember you by the key you’re holding), adaptive LED headlights, a 16-speaker harmon kardon, stereo, wireless phone charging, multi-zone climate control, active cruise control and everything is electrically-operated including the amazing front seats with backlit M logos.
Naturally, there are many options, including ventilated seats for $1600, heated front seats ($700) and steering wheel ($500) and most of the paint colours are a scandalous $2000 or $2350. You can also get heated rear seats (fancy!) for another $700. Apart from the paint, these seem like reasonable prices to me. Carbon interior trim is a no-cost option instead of aluminium and it actually looks pretty good. You can have woodgrain trim too, but I’m not sure we can be friends if you go for that.
Safety – 5 stars (ANCAP, December 2017)
The X4 has a five-star ANCAP rating based on the standard models.
You get six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward AEB (low speed), forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, auto high beams, head up display, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, speed sign recognition and reverse cross-traffic alert.
To stop you hitting people and things when you’re manoeuvring you get front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. The car will also steer itself into a park if you can get it to work and it will also reverse you out of a tight spot if you’ve forgotten how you got in. A bit like a black box recorder, it remembers the last 30 seconds or so of your wheel twirling and will back out exactly as you nosed in.
Warranty and servicing (December 2019)
Warranty: 3 years/100,000km
Like Mercedes and Audi, BMW still has a crap warranty. On a car this expensive, it should go for a lot longer. A $15,000 Kia can manage seven years, the least BMW could do is meet in the middle at five years. I’ve owned old BMWs and they were pretty good, but the length of the warranty feels wrong.
Capped-price Servicing: Condition-based. $3685 (Basic), $8173 (Plus), five years/80,000km.
For at least 15 years, BMWs have told you when they need some spanners waved at them or a fresh gulp of oil. BMWs used to be famous for high servicing costs, Ms even more so. Unlike Audi Sport, BMW will sell you a capped-price servicing package for the X4 M, offering a generous five years (see? Five years) or 80,000km (whichever comes first) for $3685. That covers most things, including oil and your annual visit will average out at around $600. Not great, but not terrible.
A couple of AMGs will cost you that for just three years.
Now, M reckons you might want to take this on a track day every now and again and are willing to offer a higher level of cover for the same period and costing $8173 and includes brake pads and discs. If it were me, I’d probably not need that because I’m fairly easy on brakes, but some people aren’t, so think carefully.
Look and Feel
Swoopy goofy roof / Okay, it does look good here / The view out / Big iDrive screen
The main differences between the X4 and its X3 sibling are behind the B-pillar. Where the X3 roof stays flat for a bigger load area and big tailgate, the X4’s swoops down like the bigger X6. It’s a bit shabby down low and the front is a bit gapey, but hey, I don’t need to tell you how it looks. You can look at the marvellous photos and make up your own mind.
The no-cost carbon trim on this car darkened the interior, making it a bit meaner-looking. I reckon it’s very nice and doesn’t make it seem like you’ve bought some stickers from eBay seller rajidajiweewop37,
Comfortable back seats / 525 litre boot / Wireless charging and CarPlay
Obviously, the roofline means a smaller boot, but it’s a mere 25 litres difference, measuring a very decent 525 litres. It’s a good boot, too – wide and sensible. Push all three sections of the 40:20:40 split fold and you have a decent 1430 litres (X3 is 1600).
That roofline also whacks some of your headroom, but I was fine and I’m just a scooch under 180cm.
The interior feels lovely and is one of BMW’s better efforts. Be nice if it had the full Live Cockpit in the dash like the new 3, X5, Z4 and X6, but you can’t have everything.
Fascinatingly, the X3/X4 M twins host the debut of the new S58 twin-turbo straight-six that will find its way under the bonnet of the new M4 when it finally arrives with its massive krill-straining grilles.
The 58 should remind you of something if you know your Ms – the X3/X4 M40i uses the B58, along with a bunch of other cars, including the late, lamented M140i. BMW says 90 percent of the parts in the S58 are new, which is probably pushing things, but I don’t care.
Because it produces 375kW from just three litres and six cylinders. Ten years ago a BMW with that kind of power had ten cylinders and 5.0-litres of displacement. And a thirst for fuel rivalled only by Warnie’s thirst for botox. That’s an astonishing amount of power, a nice round 500 horsepower.
Torque is pretty important, too, and the S58 delivers 600Nm between 2600 and 5950rpm. The redline is set at 7000rpm while peak power arrives at 6250rpm. It’s kind of nice to have a twin-turbo six that revs almost as happily as a McLaren 720S’s free-spinning V8.
Those new parts include new single-scroll turbos, 350-bar of injection pressure (for comparison, the M5 V8’s is set at 200 bar) and electrically-operated wastegates. The M exhaust makes sure other road users can hear the car. You can tell it’s going to be loud from start-up and the four black-tips blare when you’re really on it.
M’s of the past had the seven-speed DCT, but as with the M5, M’s engineers ditched it for the far superior eight-speed ZF automatic. What a belter of a combination.
Want to know something else? Like the M5’s power figure, BMW is probably under-quoting – a dyno test I’ve seen has already unearthed a figure closer to 405kW or 543hp. Yowser. And the torque is probably closer to 660Nm. Lucky it has all-wheel drive…
Floor the throttle from standstill (you might need Launch Control) and the X4 M will go from 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds.
Chassis
Big wheels, tyres and brakes / M for molto bene / M-squared / Strut brace
Two things are clear when you look at the X4 M – it’s low and it rolls on massive wheels. The 21-inch monsters are clothed in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, with 255/40s at the front and 265/40s on the rear.
An Active M differential sits between the rear wheels, which means ever so much fun. You can access the fun via a variety of ways. First, there are the mode selectors for steering, engine and suspension. You can also select three different shift programs – nice, not-so-nice and extremely naughty. You can also program a combination of these settings in the M1 and M2 ears on the steering wheel. Out of the box, M1 turns everything up to Sport and M2, which requires a second push for confirmation, switches the chassis to M Dynamic Mode. Which basically means more slip, gunshot transmission shifts and throttle response faster than a Robin Williams routine.
The dynamic dampers handle keeping the car flat in the corners and lots extra bracing – including what looks like a hefty crowbar across the engine bay – helps keep the entire chassis braced and stiff.
Chassis changes from the standard car include different swivel bearings, torque arms and wishbones with elastomer bearings.
The brakes are huge and you can see the big blue callipers through the spokes of the 21s. Ventilated (obviously) and drilled, BMW has fitted a set of stoppers they expect to work on a racetrack. No, really. And they’re from the M760i. I keep expecting BMW to announce carbon-ceramic options but so far the company says that they’re too expensive at this level.
Driving
It never ceases to amaze me how much fun M engineers can extract from an SUV. The first time I drove an X5 M50d a few years back I couldn’t believe how fast it was compared to the petrol V8. When I drove the latter, the M50d blew by me like I was parked up. Astonishing. The X5 M was in another league again.
The X4 M is quite a machine. As I said, the M40i version is pretty good, but the M is wild. That comes at a price, though. The first time I drove an M I thought it wasn’t as stiff as everyone said. A few more drives, though, and I decided that, yes, it’s quite stiff. Your family – if you have one – will really have to get used to it. Not long before I had this car I also had the Jaguar F-Pace SVR, a car that goes really fast but also rides big bumps a lot better.
What that car can’t do is handle the way this thing does. On a smooth road (you know, a race track) this thing would be an absolute weapon, despite riding high. While those 21-inch wheels might ruin the ride for some people, they more than make up for it with those sticky Michelins.
The steering is too heavy in Sport+, so keep it dialled back to either Comfort or Sport and enjoy the way this car works. The all-wheel drive system is pretty much rear-wheel drive when you punch up an M-mode. Only when things get slippy will the system send help to the front wheels.
The active diff does a ton of work in M Dynamic Mode, pointing the nose at the apex of the corner. The only thing that spoils the fun are chunky bumps. While the car won’t deviate, your backside will leave the seat if you’re not strapped down tight.
With the eight-speed working the S58 hard, you will cover ground at an almost indecent pace. The X5 M is going to have to be damn good to attract your performance dollars.
Competitors
The Jaguar F-Pace SVR ($140,262) we’ve already mentioned, as well as the coupe SUV from Mercedes, the GLC63 S (from $168,100). While both of those cars pack V8s – and in the AMG, a quicker 0-100km/h time and another gear – they’re roughly the same size. You have to spend some money on the Jag to match the specification of the BMW, though. And the Jag is very loud and a hard drinker and yes, I love it, what of it?
The AMG is also loud and has a certain…reputation attached to the badge. M is a more focussed sport brand than AMG and like the C63 S, the X4 M would probably eat the GLC63 in the corners. The GLC also has higher servicing costs ($4050 for three years, $6100 for four and $6850 for five), even more if you don’t pre-pay (three years is about $5000).
Audi doesn’t have a dog in this hunt, which is a terrible shame. The SQ5 doesn’t have the RS4/RS5’s 2.9-litre V6, at least not yet.
Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio Q is a laugh but has an unconvincing interior, an even more unconvincing senior management, but it is gorgeous and sounds terrific. But it also costs too much and the options are far too expensive.
If you must, and don’t mind a massive step back in quality, overall refinement and handling, there is the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk with its 700 horses and squidgy front seats.
Redline Recommendation
You’re going to have to have a think about this car, as I did. It’s hugely fast and massively capable but unlike its main rivals, it doesn’t have that everyday ride quality. That’s not to say you can’t use it every day – far from it – but it’s not as comfortable. The AMG is heavier partly because it needs air suspension to make it work every day – the GLC43 is fabulously uncomfortable, way worse than the X4 M.
It is, though, the real driver’s car in the segment, while being absurdly practical despite the swoopy roofline. It isn’t the best-looking – that trophy belongs to the Jag – but boy oh boy, is it fast.
The Ferrari 812 Superfast is an ode to the V12 and the glorious idea that a GT can be both fast and furious.
The Ferrari 812 Superfast is one of those dream cars. Soon, it might be just that – with ever-tightening emissions laws and the draw of hybrid power, the road going V12 might soon be a memory.Then again, we always say that…
The first Ferrari I ever drove was an f12berlinetta. It was completely mad, madder still because it had a ragged set of rear tyres. But I loved it. It’s one of only two cars to genuinely scare me – the other was the McLaren 720S.
I loved it. We found a piece of road that would shame most high-end supercars – riddled with potholes, rips and tears, the f12 should have given up. But it didn’t and I was hooked.
Twelve cylinders in a V formation can either deliver creamy, seamless power like in a Rolls Royce or angry, brutal force like in an Aventador. Somehow, the 812 Superfast’s 6.5-litre delivers both.
Words: Peter Anderson Co-pilot: Brendan Allen Images: Matt Hatton
Look and Feel
The 812 GTS is a clear evolution of the car that went before it, the f12 berlinetta. Based on the same platform – on which all current front-engined Ferraris are based – the 812 is long and sleek and pretty, particularly in profile. The f12 slightly missed the mark, but the 812’s cleaner, more aero-focussed front and rear ends are more resolved.
That Kamm-style rear-end took a while to grown on me, but I love it now. It looks a bit like a Star Wars stormtrooper looking back at you. I also love the perfectly sized Ferrari logo in the middle of the smooth surface between the lights.
The 812 looks amazing in darker colours and this Grigio Superfast Opaco – a snip at $52,937 – is worth every penny. If you have that many pennies to spend on a colour, I guess.
A Ferrari cabin is a study in minimalism. So often I show people the interior of a Ferrari and they’re surprised by the lack of buttons and screens and knobs and whatever else. They’re so clean and simple. Again, the 812 Superfast interior is a gentle evolution of the f12’s.
I love that big, squared-off steering wheel and the manettino switch setup. The huge, fixed paddles behind the wheel look and feel great, with a perfect action when you reach with your fingertips to grab a gear.
This car has some yellow in it, as you can see. That all costs extra, obviously, with several thousand dollars spent inside and out.
Drivetrain
Six. Point. Five. Litres.
You don’t get to write that very often in this business for a variety of good and sad reasons. Spread across 12 cylinders, the F140 GA produces a screaming 588kW at 8500rpm. The f12 and f12 TDF packed a 6.3 litre version of this engine, as did the original FF and LaFerrari. so it’s got pedigree.
With the extra 200cc came another 44kW and a massive 718Nm, the sort of figure you expect from a turbocharged V8 and more than enough to move the 812’s hefty 1700kg-plus kerb weight.
The Getrag seven-speed makes a return with its hugely fast shifts, driving the rear wheels. Between the 812 Superfast’s rear wheels is Ferrari’s epic F1-derived active rear-differential. As before, the gearbox is mounted ahead of the rear axle to help with the weight distribution, which is 47:53 front to rear with nobody aboard.
The 812 Superfast’s V12 redline is a stratospheric 8900rpm, courtesy of 350 bar injection and a lovely noise partly down to the new variable geometry intake ducts.
Chassis
Key to smile induction is the manettino switch. In the 812 Superfast you have five modes (versus, say, the Portofino‘s three) – Wet, Sport, Race, CT off, ESC off. They’re all fairly self-explanatory but if you need help, you can call them, “Careful-Now, Fun, Lots-of-fun, Hey-don’t-do-that and Certain Death.”
Well, with my driving ability that’s what they are. Obviously CT off and ESC off were completely off limits for me and no sane person without a couple of world championships, or at least national championships, under their belt would use these in anger on the road.
Ferrari’s F1-Trac magic talks to side-slip control to ensure safe sideways silliness without causing blushes.
The power reaches the road at the rear via 315/35s and the fronts steer with the help of 275/35s, Pirelli P-Zero rubber of course. The 20-inch alloys on this car were secured with titanium bolts ($2715).
With all that V12 thunder, braking is seriously important, so Ferrari fitted a set of gigantic Brembo Extreme carbon-ceramic discs. The fronts measure 398mm and the rears 298mm. Ferrari says they’re almost six percent better than the f12’s and I am not going to argue.
The wild f12 TDF brought four-wheel steer to the table and it remained for series production on the 812 Superfast. Ferrari calls it Virtual Short Wheelbase 2.0 which is a ridiculous name but kind of does what it says on the tin.
As you might expect, the dynamic damping is present and correct, known as Magnaride Gen 3 (more silly names).
Driving
The f12berlinetta is an experience burned into my memory. It’s a feeling I can instantly recall and describe without a millisecond’s thought. It was pretty wild, made wilder by the fact I was the last person to drive it before it was sent to a new owner. It had also spent the previous week pounding around Sydney Motorsport Park without a tyre change. So it went from lively to handful very quickly. It was glorious. It was scary. Two cars have scared me – the f12 and the first time I drove a McLaren 720S.
And so I approached the 812 with great care, even greater care than I would normally approach a car from Maranello. The f12 TDF was famed for its even more lively chassis and we know a lot of that car went into the 812 Superfast, particularly the rear-wheel steering package.
I needn’t have worried. The 812 is way more tied down than the f12, partly because the tyres had tread on them but also because customers probably wanted it that way. It has lost nothing of its fury, though. The V12 dominates the experience, with the seven-speed Getrag moving you through the gears with almost alarming pace. The engine itself can pull from 800rpm in almost any gear, so you pretty much have 8100rpm to work. That’s about as wild and flexible as any engine every produced.
It’s wonderful to drive at any speed. It’s noisy, yes – not 720S noisy. But you know what’s going on underneath you. You can drive this on the school run (and yes, I did) and it’s fine. Speed humps aren’t terrifying like they are in the Aventador.
But on a good road – and the roads that get you there – the 812 Superfast is sublime. When you first drive it, you’re aware of its length because of the way the bonnet stretches away in front of you. But the four-wheel steering brings the car in around you. You drive this car on instinct because it so quickly comes to you. The steering is light, as is the Ferrari way, but full of feel and the change of direction is nothing short of astonishing.
And the way you can tune the car on the throttle, both for sound and for attitude, is just so easy and inspires joy.
And smiles. This car makes you feel so glad you’re alive to see and hear it.
Competition
I’ve only driven the Lamborghini Aventador S as far as genuine competition goes, and it’s not a patch on this car. Aston Martin will sell you a DB11 with a V12 and even then it’s a twin-turbo. Mercedes has a new SL on the way but it’s unlikely to be as much fun as this thing is.
Redline Recommendation
Blimey. If you’re stuck with me for any length of time, you will hear me say, “Good cars get under your skin. Amazing cars get into your bones.” As I type that, I remembered the sound of the V12 and it shot up my spine, spreading through my ribs. It’s that kind of experience. The soaring sound of the V12 will stay with me till the day I die.
The kick in the back when you downshift on a floored throttle will stay with me and will stay with every single person who rode in it with me.
Mini has done a Clubman JCW before, but it hasn’t done one with 225kW and 450Nm. We drive it here in Australia and we’ve got the juicy details.
The Mini update that started 2018 is just about done, with the Clubman finally getting the mid-life tweak.
How much is the Mini Clubman and what do I get?
For 2020 the Clubman John Cooper Works comes in two specs – Pure for $57,900 and Exclusive for $62,900, both before on-roads.
2020 Mini Clubman JCW Pure
Clubman JCW…with a Countryman lurking
The Pure rolls on 18-inch alloys and has sat nav, auto LED headlights, keyless entry and start, active cruise, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, dual-zone climate control with rear vents, auto high beam, semi-automatic parking, electric folding and dipping mirrors, standard adaptive dampers and bits of cool lighting.
The 8.8-inch screen is still set in the giant LED-ringed ring in the centre of the dash and powers a 6-speaker stereo. You get two USB ports (one USB-A and one USB-C) and a 12-volt charge point as well.
You also get wireless Apple CarPlay, which is great. Less great is the wireless charging pad if you have a larger phone (iPhone XS Mac or 11 Pro Max, for instance). The Qi pad is in the armrest and like the X2’s, doesn’t fit a the bigger phones. At the time of writing Mini hadn’t changed its official policy on charging for CarPlay after the initial three years subscription runs out.
The only option available on the Pure is the Climate Package which adds heated seats darker tinted windows and massive sunroof for $2400.
Mini says the Pure is about making the purchase easy – limiting choice means it’s easier to keep in stock. I reckon this is the one most people will buy, partly because the seats but also the adaptive damoing.
2020 Mini Clubman JCW Exclusive
If you spend the extra $5000 to get to the Exclusive, you can add full leather seats with “cross-punch” patterning, 12-speaker Harmon Kardon set, electric and heated front seats and an electro-chromatic rear vision mirror to go with the folding and dipping external mirrors.
Because the Exclusive has 19-inch alloys, you lose the adaptive dampers. More on that later.
You can also get the $300 Media package which adds a head-up display with JCW additions. As with the Pure, you can specify the climate package which which is $2000 because you already have heated seats.
A third option pack, Convenience, adds through loading with 40:20:40 rear seat split, rear armrest, alarm system, tyre pressure monitoring and adaptive LED matrix headlights with LED driving lights. That’s a hefty $2900.
They should all really have a centre rear armrest and who uses an alarm anymore?
Warranty and servicing
The warranty is a three-year/unlimited kilometre offer, same as the parent company, as is the condition-based servicing where the car tells you when to take it in. You can also pre-pay up to five years of servicing with two levels of cover.
I say it all the time, but three years is looking thin in this day and age, but then again, neither Merc or Audi’s are any longer.
Safety
Like the Cooper S, the JCW comes with six airbags, forward AEB with pedestrian detection, forward collision warning, two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors.
The Clubman doesn’t have an ANCAP safety score because I don’t know why. EuroNCAP gave it four stars in 2015 and I suspect it had something to do with a couple of missing advanced safety features like lane keep assist and blind spot warning.
Look and Feel
As with the mild update to the Cooper S Clubman, the JCW scores a new grille but with a red strut bar. The new front bumper has extra ducting for the updated cooling package. The front and rear bumpers also make the car a little slipperier through the air.
The colour choice varies depending on whether you choose the Pure or the Exclusive.
The Clubman JCW Pure comes in four colours – red, white, blue and black and you can choose between one design of 18-inch wheels in silver or black.
Mini Clubman JCW Pure Interior / 8.8-inch screen / Chunky wheel
You also get just one interior colour choice with the Recaro seats in a mix of leather and Dinamica, which is like Alcantara. It’s a bit dark in there but apart from that, perfectly fine.
Your choice of exterior colours in the Exclusive expands to British Racing Green (back after a short absence), Starlight Blue (first time on a Clubman), Midnight Black, Indian Summer (very pretty), Melting Silver, Thunder Grey, White Silver and Chili Red. They’re all $1000 extra.
Moonwalk Grey and Pepper White are the only freebies.
On top of that you can choose from three roof colours and matching stripes (although the silver strips won’t be here till later in 2020).
Inside you get a few new bits and pieces including the new optional Mini Yours Frozen Blue. About the biggest change is that in the leather lounge option, the Union Jack embossing is on the forward side of headrest. The list of interior options goes on forever.
It’s a pretty good interior that makes the most of its modest dimensions. Obviously, the Clubman is bigger and feels ligther and airier than the hatch, which is obvious with lots more glass. The optional sunroof (part of the $2400 Climate Package) has those annoying perforated blinds. It’s too sunny here for those.
What is the interior space like?
Rear seat passengers get the best deal of the Mini range, except maybe for the Countryman. Half-decent space, good headroom and you don’t feel like you’ll bounce your head on the rear glass.
Front seat dwellers score a pair of cupholders and a tiny storage space in the armrest (the Exclusive has wireless charging in there) and the front doors both have bottle holders and door pockets. In the back, the
The boot 360 litres is much bigger than the Hatch and when you put all the seats down, you fill it with 1250 litres of stuff. Front seat passengers get two cupholders and those in the rear not only get them too, but also get their own air-con vents. Fancy! Except in the Pure, where there’s no rear armrest, you just get the vents.
Drivetrain
The big news for the 2020 Clubman JCW is the power jump – it’s up 55kW to 225kW and now has 450Nm. Kablamo. If that sounds familiar, it should – it’s the same engine as the X2 M35i.
Like its Beemer brother, you get a front TORSEN diff with 39% traction and 26% thrust settings. Mini says it means you get more power through the fronts more of the time. The All4 all-wheel drive system is onboard for when the front runs out of grip. Which it will if driven as intended.
An eight-speed Aisin automatic looks after getting the power and torque to the AWD system.
Hidden behind those big ducts either side of the radiators are two extra small radiators to help deal with the extra heat from the B48. It’s a lot of cooling for a lot of power.
Chassis
For the most part, the cars are mechanically identical – huge 360mm front brakes and 330mm at the rear. They’re both 10mm lower and sport new steering knuckles on the front axle to help tame torque steer.
The Torsen LSD also means that the full whack of torque is available in first and second gear, meaning vivid launch control starts.
So here’s where it’s weird, but expected. As the Mini Clubman runs on the same UKL2 platform as the BMW X2 (and X2 etc. etc.), adaptive damping is only available in cars with 18-inch wheels. So the Pure gets it, the Exclusive with its 19s does not.
Driving the Clubman JCW Exclusive
Unfortunately, I only got to drive the Exclusive, so the Pure review will be along soon.
I’ve driven a few quick Minis in my time. I’ve also driven the X3 M35i. They’re all hilarious, but for different reasons. This new Clubman JCW is way more powerful than the pre-update machine and it’s absolutely worth every single extra cent over the older car.
Basically, it’s mental. The All4 set up is nice and progressive and gets the Clubman off the line super-fast, cracking the ton in 4.9 seconds. That’s only part of the story, though.
As with most Minis, it has fantastic steering and here in the JCW, it’s almost completely unflappable and perfectly weighted when in it sportiest setting. It pounds into corners really hard, the huge brakes pulling it up nicely as you turn-in. And the turn-in is fantastic as is the ability to stamp on the throttle pretty much whenever you like (okay, within reason).
What’s also quite heartening is the fact that the ride has survived the loss of the adaptive damping.
The engine’s power delivery is for the most part very smooth, once you’re over the initial lag. That lag is fairly small given the twin-scroll turbo but once it’s gone, you’ve got a bit of a weapon on your hands. In -gear acceleration is absolutely scorching for this kind of car, zapping from 100 to *inaudible* in no time at all. Overtaking is easy and licence-shredding if you’re not careful. The eight-speed automatic is excellent and seems to know which gear it needs to be in without drama.
Redline Recommendation
Four point nine seconds is quick. Yes, you can do that an in AMG A45 (okay, quicker) but it’s a lot more expensive and doesn’t drive like a Mini, or look like one. The JCW Exclusive is great to drive and a Mini you can live with. Is it worth over $62,000? I don’t know yet – I need to drive the Pure and see if the $5000 saving, different seats and adaptive damping is worth foregoing the the extra bits and bobs.
But setting aside value-for-money, the Mini is an awesome cousin for the X2 M35i or the new M135i – completely different looks, similar price and a practical form factor.
The Jaguar F-PACE SVR is exactly what you might expect – an absolute rock-ape of an SUV, but to also manages to be completely normal. How?Who cares?
Redline regulars (hello!) will know how much I adore a supercharged V8 Jaguar. Both F-Type SVRs – cabriolet and coupe – are utterly captivating. Look deeper into the family tree and the same engine powers the Range Rover SVAutobiography and Range Rover Sport SVAutobiography. And it used to make the XJ SVR go, too.
The F-Pace sits above the E-Pace in the Jaguar SUV pantheon (sorry), with the big cat likely the goodbye for the Ford-sourced V8. I’ve been waiting a long time for this car. I’m so glad it’s here.
Look and Feel
In this mid-sized-ish SUV segment, most of the quick ones don’t shout about themselves. The X3 M/X4 M pair and the GLC63 look different enough, but there’s no shouting. That would scare off the punters. Jaguar has taken an equally calm approach to the F-Pace SVR’s. You can still tell – whopping 21-inch alloys, big-bore exhausts, requisite deeper front bumpers and a lower ride height.
The awkward extension to the rear spoiler could probably have been better-executed, but it does little to detract from a fine-looking SUV. I love the slammed glasshouse, big wheel and blacked-out look of the SVR. And the badging isn’t too much, either.
I wouldn’t say I’d have an F-Pace SVR in with a red interior but I’m not saying I wouldn’t either. As you can see, the fast one has diamond stitching inserts, shell-type front seats with grippy bolstering and some SVR badging. The F-Pace interior is pretty good to start with, so the SVR’s just helps justify the extra money. The sport-shifter is nice, too, instead of the lower models’ rotary shifter.
Drivetrain
Ah, yes. Like the F-Type, the F-Pace SVR is utterly dominated by the Ford-sourced (no shame here) 5.0-litre supercharged V8. The hoons at JLR’s SVO department fit a whopping great supercharger to extract 405kW and 680Nm.
An eight-speed auto, with faster shifts available when you’re in Dynamic mode, sends the power out to all four wheels, but for the most part it’s quite rear-wheel drivey.
Chassis
As you might expect, the F-Pace SVR is no lightweight. Yes, the standard cars are pretty good for their size with all that aluminium, but a 550-odd horsepower supercharged V8 isn’t light. The forged alloys and lightweight brakes drop a few (unsprung) kilos from the aluminium-intensive chassis and a new active valve exhaust drops a further 6.6kg.
The front springs are 30 percent stiffer with a 10 percent hike at the rear, ensuring reasonably flat and responsive performance. A new anti-roll bar and damper setup also helps cope with the expected corner loads.
Pirelli P-Zeros provide the grip, with 265/45s at the front and 295/40s at the rear, a first on the F-Pace.
Driving
I like the standard F-Pace a lot, especially in V6 diesel form. It’s light, fun, fast and handles beautifully for its size. It stands apart from the Germans, too, by being prettier, cooler and uniformly comfortable. And as the years have gone on, the cabin technology has improved too.
The F-Pace SVR is a car I have been waiting for. That endlessly charismatic V8 is utterly wild and totally addictive, serving up smooth torque when you’re pootling. Put the boot in and you’ll wake the dead with an AMG-rivalling, theatrical performance of the 1812 Overture. Cracking, banging, popping and probably breaking heaps of rules, you will never tire of it. And if you do – because you’re dead inside or something – you can shut off the noise with the exhaust button.
The SVR does suffer a little from its heavier nose, but the SVR suspension set up claws most of it back. The steering is lovely – not too heavy, enough feel without too much chatter for the day-to-day. One thing it really gets right is the ride. A week before I had the F-Type, I fired a BMW X3 M Competition down the same bit of road. It has more grip, is pretty much as quick and has a bit more space. It’s fast – but the F-Pace SVR handled the same road much more comfortably. Where the Beemer had my bum leaving the seat over a particular bit of road – big, tree-root bumps on the edge of the road under the tarmac – the F-Pace stayed the course and my foot stayed pinned to the floor.
And that fills you with that all-powerful confidence.
Where the F-Pace bests the X3 is with the soundtrack and the overall throttle response. The supercharged V8 reacts effortlessly to a change in throttle pressure, none of the X3’s lag. It’s crisp and ensures you don’t have to drive around the lag.
It’s so much fun. Loud, bawdy and bonkers, it had me smiling like a loon for the entire week.
Competition
It has some pretty stiff competition in the Stelvio Q, Porsche Macan Turbo, Audi SQ5 (not really, but that’s all Audi has) and the BMW X3 M.
The real competition is from the completely troppo twin-turbo V8 AMG GLC63, which has less power but more gears and torque and is quicker to 100km/h by half a second. Not much to look at, though and even with air suspension always feels heavy.
Redline Recommendation
The F-Pace SVR is wonderful – I can’t think of a good reason not to get it. The X3 M might have the final say on a racetrack or the slightest edge in braking and handling. The GLC63 isn’t anywhere near as pretty, but is faster. It feels heavier, though, and the interior is a bit oppressive in some configurations. The Stelvio is hilarious, but it’s an Alfa. Who knows what’s going on there.
The F-Pace certainly uses the most fuel but you get it all back in noise and hilarity.
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