Articles by Karla Pincott

The SQ5 TDI marks the first time Audi has featured a diesel engine in an S-line model -- and there won’t be very many about, with the production run limited to 50 cars.  Rolling off the line early next year, the car will be priced at €92,000 ($112,000) in Germany - the standard model is €58,000, so that’s a considerable hike. The SQ5 is powered by the 3.0-litre bi-turbo diesel V6 in the Q5 TDI, but with the 176kW/500Nm outputs boosted to deliver 230kW and 650Nm. Audi claims it gets to 100km/h in 5.1 seconds - shaving 1.4 off the Q5’s 6.5 seconds - and will hit a top speed of 250km/h electronically limited. The SQ5 TDI is finished in a crystal-effect blue with the signature S-line aluminium-look side mirrors, xenon headlights with LED running lights and four exhaust tips. The cabin gets black Nappa leather with white contrast stitching, woven leather seat sections and natural grain ash inlays.  

The front-wheel drive Paceman - due to go on sale early to mid-2013 and likely come here following that - is claimed by Mini to be the world’s first small premium “Sports Activity Coupe”. It’s based on the Mini Countryman SUV, but with two less doors, a sleeker roofline and lowered suspension.Fans of Mini styling will find nothing to shock in the cabin, with the biggest change the window switchgear migrating from the centre dash to the doors. And in signature Mini practice, there’ll be a host of colours combinations to pick for body, roof and side mirrors.The Paceman shares the same four-cylinder engine line-up we get here in the Countryman: a 105kW/305Nm turbodiesel and 90kW/160Nm, 82kW/270Nm and 135kW/240Nm petrol units - the last of those in the Cooper S that Mini says gets to 100km/h in 7.5 seconds and hits a top speed of 217km/h.Transmission choices are six-speed manual and six-speed automatic, with all-wheel drive as an option. A John Cooper Works version is also reportedly on the plan, and is bound to take the performance promise above the opening top-spec Cooper S. 

Hyundai has released images of the new generation three-door i30 ahead of its global debut, showing they’ve ramped the styling up a sportier notch. The three-door gets a sharply-raked windscreen and rising beltline, with a strong character crease along the flank. There’s a revised black-mesh grille and bumpers forward and aft, plus redesigned fog lights comprising round spots and LED strips. The three-door will be powered by a choice of four engines in five power outputs, mated to either six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. While we think the three-door would look great on Aussie streets, Hyundai says it’s been conceived only for Europe where it will strengthen the brand’s presence and continue their success in the small car segment. We’ve even less chance of getting the Kia pro-cee’d sibling that will also be unveiled in Paris, a three-door version of the cee’d. But the pro-cee’d is a bit of a looker, too - the family ‘tiger face’ grille sits well with sweptback headlights, adding an aggressive attitude to the boldly-styled body. However the cee’d variants would compete squarely against the Kia Cerato in our market, so while we might hold out a slim hope of persuading Hyundai to bring the i30 three-door, the pro-ceed has Buckley’s of arriving here.  

Where other cars might have a bonnet intake to help cool the engine, the Smart Forstars’ scoop conceals a projector that can turn any handy wall into your personal cinema. The media player for the projector can be connected directly to your smartphone or stream video from it via Bluetooth if you’ve put the phone to use in the special bracket for the Forstar’s other trick -- turning the phone into a rearview mirror. While the Forstars name might suggest the carmaker is urging wannabe narcissists to take advantage of the projector to inflict their home movies on the world, Smart says it refers instead to the glass roof that reveals the night sky. A further development of the glass-tailgated For-us concept from January’s Detroit motor show, Smart says the concept is its first Sports Utility Coupe – although it’s fairly far removed from even your wildest imagining of anything to do with sports. Or normal standards of utility. The right-hand tail-light conceals the charging socket, but the left is a large bottle holder, and the seat shells are slung with cloth hammocks – easily removable to allow you to change colours at whim, or to load larger items if you stow the passenger sling. Finishes include a mix of white leather, mother-of-pearl, wet-look ‘alubeam’ red paint and metallic titanium, while there are the mandatory LED garnishes in the light clusters. With short overhangs and a squat stance, the Forstars is lower, but based on a larger platform than that of the current Smart Fortwo we get in Australia. There’s a significant 60.0cm more length, 19.3cm wider wheelbase at the rear and 9cm at the front, signalling that the Fortwo itself is due to grow for the next generation set to arrive in 2013. The concept is powered by a 60kW magneto-electric motor fed by a 17.6kWh battery - used overseas in the Smart Fortwo Brabus - which develops 135Nm of torque from kick-off and helps the concept to a top speed of more than 130km/h.  

We were awed when the Hot Wheels team pulled off their double loop dare, and we're no less impressed by this latest corkscrew stunt. Seemingly defying the laws of physics, Brent Fletcher takes his dune buggy through a world record 30-metre corkscrew. It might look like a toy on a kids' track, but Hollywood stuntman Fletcher was in a real buggy, which hit the split ramp at more than 90km/h, resulting in it corkscrewing through the air at 230 degrees per second.

Peugeot is unveiling the next step in optimising the 208 platform with the 2008 concept SUV. Due to debut at Paris motor show later this month, the 2008 concept takes styling cues from the Peugeot Urban Crossover unveiled at Geneva motor show earlier this year – but trumpets its arrival with a blaring neon green and black finish. Compact cars are booming in sales around the world, and many carmakers are keen to build niches in that segment. So it’s logical to see Peugeot bringing a production version of the 2008 concept to market in the near future. Engine details for the 2008 concept will be announced in Paris, but a production version will likely be offered with both petrol and diesel options – with the latter something the French brand does particularly well.  

The new Beemer will be unveiled at Paris motor show as the Active Sports Tourer Concept -- although it will go into production as the 1-Series GT -- and is part of BMW's move into front-wheel drive. The image above was leaked by the Serbian website Auto.Blog.rs, which claims it is the next cover of Germany's Auto Bild magazine due out later today in Europe. The 1-Series GT will be front-wheel drive, based on a platform shared with new BMW Mini vehicles, according to the report. A four-cylinder petrol engine, hybrid and plug-in electric drivetrains are also suggested for the tall crossover hatchback, which would face off against the Mercedes-Benz B-Class.  

Demand for a top-spec Jeep Grand Cherokee that is petrol powered but doesn't have the thirst of the 5.7-litre V8 has pushed Jeep to launch a V6 version of the Overland. The Grand Cherokee large SUV has been the success story for Jeep this year, with almost 5000 sales. Of those, around 1800 have been the base model Laredo, compared to 1600 Limited sales and 1000 Overland buyers. The $65,000 V6 Overland comes loaded with a 16.5-inch touchscreen with satnav, air suspension, a rear-view camera, air suspension, panoramic sunroof and wood trim around the leather interior. More importantly, it uses just 11L/100km on 91RON or E85 petrol, against 14L/100km with 95RON fuel on the same model V8. It is also $4500 cheaper than the eight-cylinder. The spec and build quality the vehicle sits on the same platform as the last-gen Mercedes-Benz ML, courtesy of a brief and ill-fated tie-up between the two carmakers makes it a crossover-contentender in the mainstream and prestige SUV segments. Fiat Chrysler Australia managing director Clyde Campbell says customers dictated the introduction of the Pentastar engine to the top-spec version. The V6 was already sold in base Laredo and mid-range Limited trim. "At $65,000, it brings all the appointments expected on prestige vehicles well within the reach of a much larger audience," he notes. Fiat Chrysler Australia spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher expects the introduction of the V6 Overland to push buyers up the scale. "I reckon there will be a lot of people step up from the Limited," she says. The value in this vehicle is just too good to ignore." The 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine pumps out 210kW/347Nm through a five-speed auto and five-mode four-wheel drive system. It has a towing capacity of more than 2.2 tonnes. As testament to the selling power of the Pentastar engine, Jeep last month launched a limited-edition of 600 V6-powered Jet variants that sit just above the base model Laredo. The vehicles run black alloy rims, tinted glass, chrome and black exterior highlights and a reversing camera. At $46,500 it costs $1500 more than the Laredo and Jeep expects them to last two to three months.  

The first Volkswagen Golf GTI in 1976 had a kerb weight of 810kg, but over the past 36 years it has stacked on 570kg and now weighs in at 1380kg. The GTI of today is a far cry from the tiny pared three-door that spearheaded the nameplate. But Volkswagen is working on a limited edition that will retain all the technology but get 200kg closer to the lighter weight of its ancestor - and the extra agility promised with that. The Volkswagen Golf GTI Carbon will - logically, with that name - rely on carbon-fibre for the bonnet and roof, with the latter a strong laminate wrapping a steel core, according to a report by Autocar in the UK. Aluminium will also be put to work to lighten the rear floor pan, front bulkhead and windscreen frame - with the part-alloy platform destined to be used in future hybrid and electric versions of the Golf. The Golf GTI Carbon is likely to be powered by the same 165kW 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine tipped to be under the bonnet of the standard GTI in the coming Mk 7 line-up next year. 

The Peugeot Onyx concept will be unveiled at Paris motor show at the end of this month, but judging by the images and video it promises to be a show star. Peugeot's sales are suffering the slump of Europe's economic mire, but you'd never know it from the exuberant design of the concept renderings and video. The Onyx crouches aggressively low and wide, with backswept headlights echoed by a slash of LEDs delineating the deep scoops of the air intakes. The rear lines of the signature double-bubble roofline from the brand's sports hero RCZ flow down to a crescent of gilled vents, pointing to a rear engine -- tipped to be a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol unit. However it's likely to follow the Peugeot SR1 concept of 2010 in also having an electric motor, possibly driving the front wheels. The video shows an active spoiler and suggests liberal use of carbon fibre to highlight the sports positioning of the concept.