Articles by Craig Duff

Ambition plays a big part in determining which set of wheels we own. The better-paying jobs provide the income to dispose of our old car and aspire to a prestige brand.  Audi's A4 is customarily the entry model of choice for first-time buyers of the four-ring brand. The A3 sedan's smaller shape and smarter

Craig Duff road tests and reviews the new Hyundai Genesis sedan in South Korea. Hyundai has beaten the Japanese at their own game by building solid cars with decent features and sharp pricing, a strategy that has lifted the South Korean juggernaut to No. 2 passenger car maker in Australia to date this year.Now the company that made its name with the too-cheap-to-resist Getz is tackling the prestige car world with a $60,000 Euro-fighter, the Genesis.It heralds the arrival of a new player in the mid-sized luxury segment. It is loaded with the hi-tech driver aids and luxury materials buyers in this class expect, yet will be about $18,000 cheaper than a comparable BMW 5 Series, Lexus GS, Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.The car isn't due in Australia until late this year and Hyundai Australia has yet to finalise specifications or even the model range. Funnily enough, that means the company is a bit coy on pricing.Carsguide believes there will be an entry-level model about $62,000 and a fully loaded version nearer $75,000 — the entry price of the European marques against which the Genesis was benchmarked.Those base models are fitted with four-cylinder engines that lack the power of the Genesis's V6 mill, though they don't use nearly as much fuel.As far as features go, if it exists in a Benz or Beemer it's available on the Genesis. There's even an analog clock mounted in the dash — it resembles a traditional timepiece but stays true with satellite synchronicity.The techno-toy list runs from a head-up display to adaptive cruise control, lane departure warnings, blind-spot warning and adaptive suspension damping.Hyundai has even fitted a carbon dioxide sensor in the cabin. If CO2 levels rise beyond a set threshold the aircon adjusts the mix of fresh and recirculated air to stop the occupants feeling drowsy.Other smart touches include an auto-opening boot. Stand behind the Genesis for three seconds and it will pop the latch, along with a warning flash of the lights. Unlike rivals, there's no foot waving required.Who'd have thought we'd see perforated nappa leather and matt-finished timber trim as standard in a Hyundai? There are features of the cabin that are mightily impressive and overall fit and finish are a step up on the company's already high standing.Big picture stuff apart, it is the little, nuanced items, such as the way the buttons and dials feel under the fingers, that subjectively resonate as true luxury. On that basis, the Genesis isn't quite there yet. It comes close though and there's no other prestige brand with this much bling for the bucks.Interior space is impressive front or back and the car is generally well thought out. The one criticism came when the sun shone on the South Korean test drive — and reflected glare from the chrome air vent surrounds all but obscured the side mirrors.The exterior isn't radical. Few executive sedans are, but the sharp crease that runs the length of the big car at door handle height, the wide, tapering hexagonal grille and bejewelled LED headlamp surrounds give it a well-balanced look with the presence needed to make others take a second look.ANCAP hasn't smashed one yet but it's safe to assume Hyundai hasn't built a luxury limo that can't achieve the five-star rating earned by its regular vehicles.The US safety authority, NHTSA, gave it a five-star result and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded the Genesis its top ranking, though that car was fitted with the automatic emergency braking software that's an option there. Hyundai Australia can't yet say whether it will follow suit here.Nine airbags are standard and there's an active bonnet to stop pedestrians trying to imprint their cranium on the engine or vice versa.The priority in developing the new Genesis has been poise rather than outright pace. The emphasis is on ride luxury to satisfy US and Middle-East buyers who want a pillowy ride. That doesn't work Down Under and the local engineers are already working on a revised suspension tune to give the car more bite through the corners and less body roll.The 3.8-litre V6 punches along nicely but in the absence of a turbocharger giving it instant torque it needs a few seconds to wind up. External sounds are subdued — there's virtually no wind noise — and it is only when the right foot is planted to the firewall that the engine emits enough bark to be really heard.Some coarse-chip surfaces caused a decent amount of tyre rumble but we'll reserve judgment until we see what rubber the Australian-spec cars will have. An expected fuel use of about 11.0L/100km isn't great but it will take decades for the extra fuel to eat into the savings from the purchase price.The most frightening aspect of the car is that it's already good, if not yet great. Experience shows Hyundais dramatically improve with each successive generation. That means the Genesis will start attracting attention from the top end of town.

If money talks, the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso is an eloquent orator against the Proton Exora’s terse chat.

BMW announces Australian pricing for hybrid supercar Crystal balls are always a bit murky — and gazing into them costs cash. Just how much depends on the reputation of the soothsayer and the gullibility of the client.BMW's vision is much more transparent and much easier to appreciate than the insights of the local clairvoyant. And it is BMW that will pay the price if its prognostication is wrong.Its electric/hybrid sub-brand — known as "i" — is a multibillion-dollar investment that amounts to a daring interpretation of the next generation of auto mobility.In the case of its i8 supercar — this week announced with a local price of $299,000 when it goes on sale in March next year — that amounts to a radically styled and constructed body powered by an electric motor pumping through the front axle and a turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine engaging the rear. In electric mode, the i8 does 37km.Depending on operating mode (BMW's conventional Eco Pro, Eco and Sport), the motor, engine or both will provide motive power. And there's no shortage of that.BMW says the i8 will hit 100km/h in 4.4 seconds after the accelerator is depressed. That's on a par with a Porsche 911 Carrera S, which costs $243,000 in Australia.Where the Porsche wins is in outright driving dynamics — it eats corners, ferociously. Overseas test drives indicate the Beemer falls just short of those lofty marks but in BMW's defence it wasn't intended to.The maker has maintained the i8 is a "forward-looking and sustainably focused sports car" rather than a next-gen take on an outright track car, as with its performance M vehicles. It is also a saleable showcase of how BMW can electrify a tiny engine to act and perform close to the benchmark set by conventional Euro sports coupes.The hybrid drivetrain is wrapped in a carbon-fibre reinforced plastic and alloy body, replete with vertically opening "butterfly" doors, laser headlights and all the driving aids the Bavarian maker can cram into the computers.Given only a handful will end up in Australian garages, there's no reason to doubt the success of the i8, at least as a mobile "proof of concept". Viability will depend how fast BMW can make mass-market versions that fuse the technology and performance with what families expect.

The "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" mantra has proven true for Volvo and more than validates the Swedish maker's decision to race V8 Supercars.Book A Test Drive > Request an eBrochure > Find Latest Offers>Volvo Australia boss Matt Braid says a 60 per cent rise in sales of the S60 sedan are directly attributable to the team's V8 success. "Since the weekend of Clipsal (the first V8 race on the calendar, in March) our inquiries have probably doubled," Braid says.That hasn't translated across the entire Volvo range and Braid says the company still needs to educate the public about its sedan, wagon and hatch line-ups. "We know when it comes to a family buying an SUV we're definitely on the shopping list. We're not with our sedans." Referring to Volvo's conservative history, he says: "We're the last market globally to get rid of the view of the hat on the parcel shelf." Braid says building sales of the V40 hatch will be a priority but it won't involve price cuts. "The segment's booming so we've got to be a bit more aggressive with that car. "We're a luxury brand, so we need to push the luxury potential of the brand, push the technology, push the performance aspects." The mix of technology and performance will be highlighted by the arrival of the new XC90 large SUV next year. Braid says the vehicle will use four-cylinder engines. The performance flagship for the range will be a plug-in hybrid."You'll definitely see (the plug-in as a premium vehicle). It won't be priced in line with the other cars. We're still at the tentative stage of exactly what that entails from a price point and also what equipment and technology it will have versus others," he says."People aren't necessarily going to look at hybrid technologies purely as being green. It's going to be, ‘How can I maximise efficiency and performance out of a given vehicle platform?'"  

It's enough to make an outlaw biker patch over to the venerable Ulysses club.  Harley-Davidson, the motorcycle company founded on rebellious spirit and rumbling V-twin engines, has gone electric. Forget Arnie Schwarzenegger in Terminator and start thinking Tron as the company looks to the next generation of riders, along with emerging markets such as China.Truth be told, Harley's customers are already a cross-section of society, from young tradies to cashed-up executives. They buy into the lifestyle, not the powerplant. The LiveWire e-bike was revealed in the US on Friday ahead of a national tour where customers will be invited to give their opinions on how the futuristic cruiser can be improved. That feedback will be used to develop a production model by 2016. As such, technical details are sketchy. A lithium-ion battery pack feeds electricity to a three-phase motor that generates 55kW and 70Nm. Those aren't big numbers but are still enough to propel the bike to 100km/h around four seconds after twisting the right grip. Top speed is - for now - electronically limited to 150km/h.Those figures put it on a par with Harley's conventional Sportster 883 but it is rumoured the bike has been restrained for the customer test rides and the production version will pack more punch. Harley is happy to talk about the LiveWire's sound, with the company's chief marketing officer Mark-Hans Richer describing it as a "distinct part of the thrill"."Think fighter jet on an aircraft carrier. Project LiveWire's unique sound was designed to differentiate it from internal combustion and other electric motorcycles on the market," he says.H-D president Matt Levatich sees the LiveWire as an evolution of the iconic brand. "Project LiveWire is just one element in our efforts to preserve and renew the freedom to ride for generations to come," he notes. 

It makes us look good - but so it should, at $359,800.

A mid-sized SUV with a microcar-sized thirst is Mitsubishi’s entry into the hybrid market. Far from following the skinny tyre-tracks of the unloved i-MiEV, the Outlander PHEV is the most practical petrol-electric hybrid to go on sale in Australia.The latest Outlander - Mitsubishi already sells petrol and diesel versions - can tow up to 1500kg yet uses just 1.9L/100km. The entry level PHEV costs $47,490, or $11,000 more than the comparable petrol LS-spec model.The petrol-electric version adds a smart key, high-intensity discharge headlamps, alloy wheels and Mitsubishi’s top-shelf AWD. The PHEV Aspire is $52,490, a premium of $8600 on the petrol Aspire model. The price increase comes from developing the 12kW/h lithium-ion under-floor battery and the motors to drive each axle, along with the software needed to run the car either as a pure electric vehicle, a series hybrid with the petrol engine recharging the battery, or as a parallel hybrid with the engine also helping with front-drive.Mitsubishi Australia spokeswoman Shayna Welsh rates the pricing as sharp and well in line with other hybrids. “It should appeal to buyers of regular medium SUVs as well as hybrid adopters,” she says.“There’s also been interest from fleets who have a commitment to lowering emissions or want a certain percentage of green vehicles. The Outlander gives them two cars in one. It has all the space of a regular SUV with all the advantage of a hybrid.”Mitsubishi says the vehicles will run for up to 52km on a full battery charge. Then the 2.0-litre petrol engine fires up to recharge the battery up to 80 per cent capacity. Plug the PHEV in at home via a 15-amp socket and it should take about five hours to recharge a depleted battery.

Never mind the bizarre badging, Kia’s initial warm hatch is a match for Euro rivals.

The M3 sedan and M4 coupe will take on Benz's bahn-storming C63 AMG and already have the on-paper victory. The duo rocket to 100km/h in just 4.1 seconds with the optional seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. That's 0.1 of a second quicker than the M-B 507 Edition and 0.4 of a second faster than a standard C63.Mercedes still holds the outright power edge with 336kW and 600Nm but concedes about 100kg in weight to the BMWs. Beemer has dropped the 4.0-litre V8 (309kW/400Nm) and reverted to an in-line six-cylinder engine with a pair of turbochargers to boost outputs to 317kW and 550Nm while trimming fuel use by 25 per cent. Claimed fuel consumption is down to 8.8 litres/100km for the manual models and 8.3 seconds for the auto. The outgoing Benz uses 12.1L/100km.BMW has used carbon-fibre reinforced plastic to help trim weight and improve handling. The roof, drive shaft and front strut brace are all crafted from the high-strength composite, while the bonnet, front side panels and suspension components are aluminium.An electric power-steering unit has three in-built driving modes that regulate steering wheel heft and responsiveness. Adaptive dampers with three-way adjustment will also be offered as an option.BMW Australia spokesman Scott Croaker says the cars will arrive in Australia in the third quarter next year. "Visually the M3 represents the biggest change from the donor car," Croaker says. "The 4 Series coupe is already fairly aggressive and has a wide rear track so the changes to the M specification aren't as pronounced."In another first for BMW both cars will arrive simultaneously. "Previously there was around a six-month gap between the sedan and coupe," Croaker says. 'Now we have two separate models that doesn't apply." Croaker says final specification and pricing for Australian models has yet to be determined but prospective buyers will need $150,000 based on the cost of the current car.The vehicles will be built on the production lines of their respective family models, so M4s will be sourced from Munich and the M3 will arrive from Regensburg.BMW M3/M4 Price: $150,000 (est)Warranty: 3 years/unlimited kmCapped servicing: NoService intervals: 12 months/25,000kmResale: 57 per cent (est)Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl twin-turbo, 317kW/550NmTransmission: 6-speed man, 7-speed dual-clutch auto; RWDThirst: 8.3L-8.8L/100km, 194g-204g/km CO2Dimensions: 4.7m (L), 1.9m (W), 1.4m (H)Weight: 1537-1635kgSpare: None