Articles by Ewan Kennedy

Mercedes-Benz has improved its E-Class range with a facelift and increased standard equipment.

When you're on a good thing, stick to it is an old saying and the all-new third-generation BMW X5 SUV shows the upmarket German marque has taken these words of wisdom on board.

Kia Cerato has become more visible on buyer radars in the last year or so, primarily because of its excellent new styling.

Mazda 6 was launched in Australia in August 2002 and has had sales success since day one. Probably because it was a lot more stylish than the Mazda 626 it replaced.

Yes you read that correctly, this Trakka is a sports campervan. It seems there’s no end to niche models in the automotive industry, but we must admit to being taken by surprise by this one. Still Trakka boss Dave Berry has a sharp eye on the market. And if he says buyers want a campervan with a turbocharged engine, lowered sports suspension, 19-inch alloy wheels, low profile tyres, all-wheel drive, and a German body kit -- then maybe they do. But we’re not sure Berry has chosen the right name for his sports campervan; Trakkadu ABT has a weird sound, but presumably conjures up visions of Trakka and Kakadu so maybe he is on the right track (excuse the crook pun). The ‘ABT’ comes from ABT Sportline, a company that’s barely known in Australia, but is big in Europe as it specialises in race and tuning equipment for Volkswagens. Given the sporting specs of the Trakkadu you would have to keep on the right track.  Despite having drive to all four wheels, this isn’t the sort of vehicle to venture off sealed roads. Even some caravan and camping grounds we have visited over the years may well challenge the Trakkadu with their lumpy, bumpy surfaces. The traditional campervan owner uses their vehicle to explore Australia and to have weekends away, usually staying in campsites.  But Dave Berry says we are now seeing a new group of owners who want to use their RV as a normal vehicle during the week, while at the weekend they use it for lifestyle activities such as surfing, yachting, fishing, scuba diving, skiing, or whatever. Trakkadu ABT provides all of this, with the added benefits of letting you have a hot shower, a cold drink from the 80-litre fridge and a cooked meal. ENGINE / TRANSMISSION The Trakkadu ABT is based on the Volkswagen Transporter, a vehicle the Trakka guys and gals have used as a donor vehicle for four decades. In this case it uses a Volkswagen variant produced especially for Trakka, with the top drivetrain and equipment levels. Power comes from a132 kW turbo-diesel engine mated to a seven-speed DSG twin-clutch gearbox. Power goes to all the wheels through the VW 4Motion system that includes a locking rear differential. FEATURES To this Trakka adds lowered sports suspension from ABT Sportline, the German motor racing and car tuning company; an ABT Sportline body kit with revised front bumper, front air splitter and brake cooling inlets. Side skirts further lower the visual aspect. As standard the Trakkadu ABT comes in deep black pearl paint with the roof in contrasting Titanium Silver. The leather trim sets the stage for a luxury-sport Trakka. There’s a multimedia satellite navigation and entertainment system, automatic wipers and cruise control. Trakkadu has an elevating roof providing good headroom and ventilation. There’s a double bed that converts into a two passenger seat and has child safety seat attachments. There’s a dual-zone ceramic top stove; sink with hot and cold water; roller shutter cupboards and a moveable table. At the rear there’s additional storage space and a shower with hot and cold water. Dave Berry sums up the Trakkadu ABT; “We are seeing the biggest changes to the RV industry since I started 40 years ago. A new generation of owners is entering the market for the first time. They are bringing with them a range of new expectations and desires for a lifestyle that is more active, filled with passions that they had throughout their lives and a yearning to travel to new places and continue expanding their life time experiences.” The Trakka Trakkadu ABT sports campervan isn’t cheap, at $135,500 drive-away, but you do get a lot of equipment for your money. The Trakka range begins at $87,500 drive-away.  

Building on its increased sales success in Australia in the last couple of years Renault has announced that the Renault Fluence has been given a mid-life makeover

This is the one we’ve been waiting for – the new Volkswagen Golf GTI.

The family car market in Australia is totally dominated by Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, but from time to time other marques have a go at creating competition.

Malaysian car maker Proton has been very quiet in Australia in recent times, but is planning to make more noise on the market in the coming few months. The company made some weird decisions on pricing in years gone by, asking big dollars for some models with the result that sales were all but non-existent at times. The lesson appears to have been learned and Proton is now proudly telling us its cars are amongst the cheapest on the market. Proton launched a model called Preve in four-door sedan format early in 2013 and will expand the range with the introduction of a sporty Preve GXR. It will be powered by the turbo version of the 1.6-litre Campro engine with 103 kW of power and 205 Nm of torque. Which should make it more lively than the sedan with its non-turbo 80 kW engine.  Preve’s CVT transmission has paddle shifters to let the driver choose between seven preset gears. Proton is proud of the fact that the driving dynamics of Proton Preve GXR have been Lotus engineered. This is something that has impressed us in previous Proton models, which had excellent ride and handling. Preve has a five-star crash test rating and will go on sale in Australia on November 1, 2013. An interesting model is the seven-seater Proton Exora people mover. Two models are coming down under; even the entry level Proton Exora GX is well equipped, with alloy wheels, a roof mounted DVD player; CD audio system with Bluetooth, USB and Aux inputs, reverse parking sensors alloy and an alarm system. To that list the Proton Exora GXR adds a leather trimmed interior, cruise control, a reversing camera, and a rear spoiler. Proton Exora GX will have a driveaway price from $25,990. The topline Exora GXR begins at $27,990 drive away. Both versions of the people mover are powered by a low-pressure turbo-petrol engine of 1.6 litres, producing 103 kilowatts of power and 205 Newton metres of torque. They will have a CVT automatic transmission, with six preset ratios for the times when the driver feels the computer hasn’t selected the correct ratio for the conditions. Major safety items are ABS, ESC and four airbags. However, the Proton Exora has only received a four-star ANCAP safety rating in a time when many cars gain the maximum five stars.  On sale date of the Proton Exora range is October 1, 2013. Proton’s newest model, the Suprima S hatchback is further down the track, with an on sale date of December 1, 2013 being currently planned for. Pricing will be announced at a later date. Just introduced in Malaysia, the all-new Proton Suprima S will be sold in two models, both using the same turbo-petrol 1.6-litre Campro engine and CVT transmission as are installed in the Exora and Preve. However, a six-speed manual version will be available from the first quarter of 2014. The Suprima S has also gained a 5-star ANCAP safety rating. All new Protons have five years capped price servicing, a five years warranty and five years free roadside assistance; all of these have a distance limit of 150,000 kilometres. We will be interested to see how the new Proton range works out. Previous models have greatly impressed us with their ride and handling, but left us distinctly unimpressed with engines that were down on performance. Build quality was on the variable side in years gone by, but has hopefully been brought up to date. Certainly our visit to the then new Proton factory in Malaysia about five years ago showed that the team there is very determined to produce world-class cars.  

Looking for something different in the family car field? Then why not examine the big Ford Taurus?