Articles by Keith Didham

SILENCE, they say, is golden. But it can frighten the beejesus out of pedestrians.  I found that out after nearly skittling a jaywalker who simply didn't hear the battery-powered Corolla Hybrid heading her way. Scary stuff for the startled walker — and me.Of course this silence was planned by Toyota. The Camry switches from petrol to battery power when the car is being driven slowly — or switches off completely when stopped — as a clever way of saving fuel.  For someone bought up on a diet of thumping V8s and rumbling sixes, all this silence seems weird. But the hybrid Camry goes about its business of saving fuel — and the environment, thanks to lower exhaust emissions — without fuss.To go, push the accelerator, life is restored, and the car silently moves off until eventually the petrol motor cuts in.  Toyota already has the hybrid Prius, but the new hybrid Camry opens up a whole new market for the market leader.At first Prius was considered too radical — a car designed for those greener than green. But it slowly won the hearts of middle Australia, giving buyers who want to save running costs a real option.With the pioneering work largely done and dusted by the Prius, world-wide recalls aside, the market is now ready to accept a larger family-sized model.  That's why I reckon the Aussie-built hybrid Camry will work wonders for Toyota, as it aims to capture Falcon and Commodore buyers who are downsizing.StylingThe hybrid looks like a regular Camry and it isn't complicated to drive. It's just eerie when you push the start button nothing seems to happen — but the word "ready" on the computer display is the signal all is well to go.Pricing and variantsAnd pricing isn't too bad either. There are only two variants, both automatics. The base sells for $36,990 — that's in the same pricing territory of a base six-cylinder Falcon or Commodore but the Toyota uses about a third less fuel.However it is about $3000 more than the conventional Camry Sportivo with which it shares many features — so its going to take a few years for the savings in running costs to compensate the price premium.The luxury version, which I have been driving, is $39,990 plus on-road costs. That's the same price as the normally aspirated Camry Grande so the price penalty disappears.DrivetrainThe hybrid marries two engines — a 2.4-litre 4 cylinder petrol motor with a 650V electric motor/generator.  The nickel metal hydride battery pack is topped up by capturing energy normally lost under braking or deceleration and if you really want to impress your passengers there's a nifty display on the dashboard that shows where the power is coming from or going to.The petrol engine uses an Atkinson cycle design (longer power stroke than compression stroke) which promotes lower fuel consumption but at the cost of performance.  The petrol motor is good for 110kW while two power sources combined produce about 140kW. The petrol contributes 187Nm of torque; the electric motor is rated at about 270Nm but Toyota is reluctant to give a proper figure because of the complexities of quantifying the torque.Torque is important because the Camry needs lots of it to shift the hybrid's extra weight.  And as for the true fuel saving? Toyota makes some bold claims:over 20,000km a year you can save about $14 a week from the family fuel budget, compared to a larger car and based on petrol being $1.30 a litre.DrivingIn a week of city running I made no conscious effort to save fuel. I wanted the car to return an honest consumption.  I was more than surprised: using 7.8l/100km or less than $20 of fuel for the week. My motoring colleagues have got that figure down to 6.5l/10km without trying too hard.Toyota's own consumption figure is 6l/100km for a mix of urban and city driving.  And fuel consumption is very much to the forefront when you are behind the wheel — the hybrid has four separate gauges to tell you if you are being green friendly.The hybrid's downsides? The only negatives I could find was an initial lacklustre performance from the CVT auto (there's no manual sequential shifting with this transmission), poor brake feel, a much smaller boot than the average Camry and you can't tow, not even a box trailer.  I also found out the hard way that the floor of the boot, made from hardboard, is easily broken.I got my first flat tyre in more than 25 years and managed to accidentally break the floor panel trying to lift it (you have to remove a central securing bolt first). And yes, I should have read the handbook first.  Driving the hybrid is a better than expected experience, albeit the ride is on the softish side. When you start off there's a whirring sound, akin to an electric trolley bus. Eventually the petrol engine cuts in with a slight vibration.You need a decent push on the acceleration to get the car up and running and the braking feels overly soft but you quickly get used to it.  The ride is excellent thanks to the extra weight of the battery in the boot, which balances out the weight distribution, and while the new electric steering is effortless, it is also lifeless.There's a little bit lacking in outright performance and some hesitation between pushing the accelerator pedal and forward movement but nevertheless the car is very liveable and without any major vices.  For the money, the luxury version of the hybrid Camry lacks for little: it has all the necessary safety features including stability and traction control, you get much-needed park sensors and rear-view camera for backing into tight spaces.The hybrid also features luxuries like push-button starting, leather upholstery, a decent audio system, power adjustable front seats and dual air conditioning.  Has the hybrid come of age? In this Camry there's no question.  Would I buy one? Absolutely, if I didn't need to tow a trailer.

It started with a challenge and ended up with another.  Late last year, Hyundai entered two of its new Santa Fe R wagons in the Global Green Challenge — a tough 3136km economy run from Darwin to Adelaide. It was no picnic, with in-car temperatures exceeding 50 deg C.Remarkably, one of the Santa Fes achieved an average fuel consumption of just 5.10 litres per 100km, while the Carsguide entry didn't disgrace itself either, finishing with 5.39-litres.   That was achieved by driving smoothly, driving slowly and driving without the use of fuel-robbing air conditioning.While most motorists wouldn't go to such lengths to reduce their fuel bill it did prove the Santa Fe R was the most fuel efficient wagon in its class.  Hyundai's official fuel consumption for the turbo diesel is 6.7l/100km for the manual and 7.5l/100km for the automatic, which in real-world stop-start driving means the average owner should be getting between 8 and 9l/100km for a mix of city and rural driving. Anything less they are doing well.At the end of the Global Green event CarsGuide put its own challenge to Hyundai — to do a more realistic test of the Santa Fe's consumption by towing a mid-sized caravan over a typical grey nomad route.The routeWe’ve just completed a 1200km, four-day test from Sydney to Melbourne, hitched to a Jayco poptop — and we made it using less than two tanks of fuel.The route started at Hyundai Australia's Sydney headquarters in the northern suburb of Macquarie park. It then traversed the city with its congested traffic before heading down the South Western highway to Goulburn. It then dropped down to the coast on the often steep Kings Highway to Batemans Bay.The second day followed the undulating Princess Highway to Eden, including a side trip to the delightful sideside town of Bermagui.  The third day ended up in Traralgon in Victoria before the run to the finish line at Hyundai's Melbourne office in Clayton.The drivingThe wagon was kept at speeds of between 80 and 90km/h where possible, while the route was planned to take in typical conditions faced by caravanners, including plenty of twisty roads and abundant hills. The unexpected was when Mother Nature played a cruel twist, forcing us to drive into the teeth of a gale-force south-westerly which swept Victoria.The goal was to return an average fuel consumption of between 9 and 10l/100km — and in New South Wales, in perfect driving conditions, we saw 9.4l/100km. By the half way point the hills had taken their toll and the Santa Fe returned a still remarkable 10.05l/100km.Then disaster. Crossing into Victoria we were hit by 40km/h gales and driving rain which immediately shot fuel consumption to high 11s, no matter how hard we tried. The simple solution would have been to stop, but had a time deadline so we pushed on.The fuel billIt was heartbreaking because the Santa Fe is, from our experience, capable of a sub-10L/100km, given the right conditions.  We battled on and eventually the wind dropped and so did the fuel consumption. We made to Melbourne with the low fuel warning light on and less than 5 litres remaining.The Sydney to Melbourne drive returned an average consumption of 10.36l/100km or 27 mpg.  The best return an impressive 9.4l/100km (in Sydney traffic), the worst, thanks to the headwinds, 12l/100km.  The Santa Fe covered 1186km without a wimper, staying in fifth or sixth gear for most of the journey, such is the tremendous torque from the diesel.We used 122.90 litres; with a total cost of $159.84, with diesel prices ranging from a high $1.38 a litre in Eden to a low $1.21 a litre in Melbourne.  The Santa Fe's fuel economy as a tow vehicle was remarkable considering the gale force head winds and the constant four wheel drive wagon had an automatic transmission, air conditioning was used when needed, as was the cruise control.The vehicle and vanEven more remarkable was that it towed a caravan weighing in at 1.3 tonnes and fitted with a roof-mounted air condition unit which created extra drag without any issues.We have written about the seven-seat Santa Fe before, noting how quiet and how user friendly it is to drive. Plus it comes with a five-star safety rating, has a big cabin and adult space in all seven seats.  It took less than a day to pick the Santa Fe's best and not so good features.The best was the strong 145kW common-rail turbodiesel, perfectly matched to the six-speed automatic with sequential manual shifting available if needed. The combination is a cracker.  It develops 436Nm of torque between 1800 and 2500rpm. The auto delivers more torque than the manual (421Nm) so gives it the edge for towing.We drove the Elite-spec version which comes well equipped for the $43,990 pricetag including dual air conditioning, lockable rear differential, traction and stability control, six airbags, parking sensors, cruise control, push button start, wide-angled interior "nanny" mirror, power adjustment for the front seats, smart entry and iPod and USB connectivity.The tipsThere are three big killers to lowering fuel consumption: excessive speed, poor driving habits or poor engine tune.To get the best result:Drive smoothlyDon't accelerate or brake hardKeep the vehicle moving by anticipating changes to the traffic to avoid delays Reduce your speed on the highway Switch off the engine while waiting for long periods at traffic lights Use the highest gear possible without labouring the engine. Change up a gear in petrol engine vehicles at about 2500rpm, in diesels at about 2000rpm. If vehicle speed drops off select a lower gear sooner rather than later Modern automatics can use less fuel than a manual Reduce the vehicle or trailer's weight by getting rid of unwanted items like roof racks Get your vehicle serviced Avoid peak hour traffic Ensure your tyres are at the manufacturer's maximum recommended level On the highway use the air conditioning rather than drive with the windows down to reduce drag At lower city speeds switch off the air conditioning and open a window. 

Petrol power has gone out of favour in the team Hyundai camp. So too the budget two-wheel drive base model of the Santa Fe which has been given the flick. For 2010, Hyundai has dropped the petrol 3.3-litre two-wheel drive wagon and the petrol 2.7-litre all wheel drive versions. Like it or not, the new range is now all diesel and all all-wheel drive. The three variants new share a new win-win 2.2-litre unit - more power and reduced fuel consumption.There's also a new in-house designed six-speed lightweight auto which, combined with the engine, has delivers more torque than the manual making it the ideal tow machine. With the smaller Tucson Hyundai was one of the first to offer a two-wheel drive version of a wagon as a way of getting more city dwellers into its fold - buyers who wanted the look of an all-wheel drive wagon but didn't need off-road capability.But that marketing game plan no longer works as well in the current economic climate, according to Ben Hershman, Hyundai's public relations manager. The two- wheel drive Tucson stays in the Hyundai lineup, but the front wheel drive Santa Fe version has been culled.Hershman says the new 2.2 diesel, which cost $227 million to develop (with the help of Bosch), gives buyers the performance of the old 3.3 petrol but at lower running costs. He says offering a two-wheel drive midsized wagon doesn't make sense, when the new Santa Fe has so much to offer. But you never say never in the automotive business and Hershman has left the door open for the two-wheel to return (quote) if there is demand in the future (unquote). So watch this space.For 2010 the SLX replaces the old SX as the base model, with entry pricing up $1000. There are now three variants: the SLX, Elite and posh Highlander. The base SLX comes standard with five-star crash rating (up from 4 stars) , traction and stability control, six airbags, parking sensors, cruise control, iPod and USB connectivity, audio controls on the steering wheel, 17-inch alloys and fog lamps.The Elite adds a cool box, wide-angled cabin mirror, auto headlamps, power adjustment for driver's seat, roof rails, push button start, smart key entry, dual climate control zone air conditioning and leather steering wheel.The Highlander gets a rear parking camera, leather upholstery, powered front passenger seat, six-stack CD/MP3 audio, 18-inch alloy wheels, rain sensing wipers and a sunroof.Hyundai has ticked all the right boxes with this revamped wagon.More power for cheaper running costs will be a big draw card as Hyundai fights for sales with Holden's Captiva, the Kia Sorento (which shares the same engine/transmission package) Toyota Prado and any one of half a dozen contenders in the medium SUV bun fight.The new R-Series 2.2-litre common rail turbo diesel - this one gets the new piezo electric injectors for faster and cleaner light up - proves without a doubt that the days of cumbersome, noisy, smelly diesel wagons have long gone. This family seven-seater is clearly a winner. Affordable to run, good towing capacity, well equipped and sharply priced.The new engine is quiet for a diesel, at least from the cabin. Matched to the new six-speed manual there's abundant and wide-spread low to mid-speed torque; but in typical diesel fashion the performance does peter out once you get past about 2200 revs.The cabin layout is functional and comfortable; the instruments and switches big and clear. The control to lock the rear dif has been moved from the centre console to the right of the steering wheel and out of reach of passengers or kids.The downside: I'm still not convinced the styling works from all angles. Hyundai has gone for a more muscular look and the face now has the familiar Hyundai family look about it. No complaints about the cabin though. The third seat pews are best in class and can seat adults in comfort. The rear is not a kids-only zone like some of the Santa Fe's rivals. And you can control the rear air conditioning system from back there as well.Make One Degree of difference today by calculating your carbon footprint and finding out what you can do to reduce it.

The temperature has soared to a sticky 40 deg and a willy-willy is kicking up a menacing dust spiral right beside us. The road ahead disappears into a mirage, only the faint shimmering of what passes for trees indicates where the highway is heading.Heavy skid marks and hawks circling overhead pinpoint today's fresh road kill - yet another cow - which has been hit the night before. Already the carcass in the ditch is withering in the heat. Beside it termite mounds are rising through a rusting vehicle abandoned in the bush.This is a punishing environment but the perfect for Hyundai. They are out to prove its new Santa Fe all-wheel drive wagon has clean, green credentials - even in this Outback oven.The Koreans launched the revamped seven-seat Santa Fe in Adelaide last night. But we have already been testing it this week, competing as a guest driver in the two-car Hyundai team in the Global Green Challenge, an endurance rally for production or near production vehicles to prove their fuel efficiency.The task: drive 3000km from Darwin to Adelaide using the least amount of fuel possible; with each day's stage having a maximum completion time, forcing entries not to dawdle too slowly or they will be penalised. It's a mind game of measuring speed against time for maximum efficiency. The vehicle which returns to best fuel efficiency gain over its official consumption rating wins.We have been cutting it close - 11 minutes to spare at the stage finish on day one, just one minute on day two after nine hours on the road and two minutes on day three. That's too close for comfort.And as for the Santa Fe? It's remarkable for just how well it's been running, both team cars using less than 5.4l/100km, which is well under the official figure of 6.7l/100km - a figure set in the laboratory and not in the real world.We've been travelling at a snail's pace - between 70 and 80km/h on the 130km/h limited highway and we have been doing it with the air conditioning switched off. What's even more remarkable is that we have been running the wagon, as an experiment, on cruise control, which has penalised us about 0.2l/100km on our sister team entry. It's a reflection of just how smart Hyundai's electronics have become.While most drivers wouldn't tackle long distance journeys at such slow speeds or without using cooling air conditioning, the Global Green rally has proved that you can save money by simply reducing speed and driving smoothly. At 90km/h the Santa Fe was still achieving 6l/100km. That's fuel saved, less carbon dioxide emissions and more money in your wallet. Even careful driving in the city, changing to top gear as soon as possible and avoiding heavy braking reaps rewards. We've proved that. 

But that’s the time by which we scraped in to avoid a late penalty after day two – the toughest day so far – in the Global Green Challenge.We were given a maximum time of nine hours to cover the 668km from Katherine to Tennant Creek. The slower you go, of course, the less fuel you use, but go too slow and you get penalised.On day one, fellow Carsguide co driver Chris Riley and I got to the finish with 11 minutes to spare and we thought that was a close call. Today it was just a minute. That’s too close.And that was after a day of continuously doing mental arithmetic to work out the distance run against travel speed, and the time we needed to be at the finish – keeping in mind we had to maintain fuel efficiency in our Hyundai Santa Fe, which is working out to be an impressive wagon.The Santa Fe, which goes on sale next week with a new engine and six-speed manual or automatic transmission, has been turning heads everywhere we go for the frugal fuel consumption it offers for a SUV.This turbodiesel 1.9-tonne vehicle with constant four-wheel drive has been running all day at just 5.5l/100km. For several hours we got the average down to 4.9 litres before strong headwinds slowed our progress. That’s remarkable considering we experimented and ran most of the day on cruise control.The other Santa Fe in the team, driven by rally veteran Ed Ordynski and motoring guru John Cadogan – who won the Challenge last year – has been doing marginally better. For the second day in a row they beat us, by using less than half a tank of diesel over the 668km course. We will be out to make amends tomorrow.It was another tough day, running without the air conditioning to save fuel as the temperature soared to over 40 degrees. It’s also been a day we saw a lot of road kill, black skid marks on the highway from heavy braking and dead cattle on roadside have sadly become a common sight. But in nature’s way, the hawks and crows are efficient cleaners, leaving only bones behind.Today’s result proved interesting.The winner of the Global Green Challenge is the vehicle which, over the 3000km journey, records the biggest gain over its official fuel consumption rating. So all cars, from a thumping V8 ute to a three-cylinder micro are on an even footing.As predicted, the large cars are doing well because they have greater opportunities for fuel consumption gain.After day two, the HSV V8 Maloo ute has a commanding lead in the production car class with a 47 per cent improvement. Ford’s Falcon six-cylinder XR6 is second with a 39.5 per cent gain, followed by Holden’s Sportwagon with 33.5 per cent and Skoda’s prestige diesel powered Superb on 32 per cent.We are sitting in sixth spot, up from 10 on day one, with a 21.2 per cent gain.Our teammate is fifth on 21.7 per cent..Tomorrow we are off to Alice before the Global Challenge heads for Adelaide.

The Eco-friendly Green Challenge diet, guaranteed to make you sweat, and hopefully drop a few kilos.First, take a suitable vehicle – in this case Hyundai’s impressive Santa Fe, a mid-sized soft roader which has been revamped and which goes on sale next week.We’re driving the Santa Fe in this year’s 3000km challenge from Darwin to Adelaide in a real-world test of fuel consumption.But being a challenge, my co-driver and fellow Carsguide writer Chris Riley decided to get smart. And it turns out all the other drivers, seeking an edge, thought the same. Why not save fuel by turning off the vehicle’s air conditioning?Well all know air conditioning robs a vehicle of power and therefore adds to daily running costs. It can’t be too hard to drive with it switched off and the windows up … right?Wrong. Today’s leg from Darwin to Katherine was 376km and tomorrow we do double the distance from Katherine to Tennant Creek is another 668km.Now, picture a 4WD wagon, no air conditioning, windows up, travelling at 80km/h to save fuel as the temperature sizzles from 37 to 40 deg C. Liken it to sitting in a confined but comfortable space with a hot air dryer going full blast in your face for five hours and you get the picture. You sweat in this mobile sauna.Never mind trying to drive and dodge wandering cattle on the Stuart Highway.Still, a truckload of bottled water, a simply divine ice-cream at our only stop at the Hayes Creek roadhouse and several hours of music from the Angels made it bearable.We made it to Katherine with just two minutes to spare on the time clock otherwise we would have been penalised for being late . And how well did the Santa Fe do? At the moment that’s up for debate.By our reckoning we are in the top six in the field, but like all good rallies there are questions over the first day’s results which saw HSV’s V8 Maloo record a remarkable 65 per cent gain in fuel efficiency, running at just 5.34 litres per 100km. That’s from a ute with an official combined fuel figure of 15.1.Unimpressed mutterings at day’s end about that result.The cars which did impress the field were the Skoda Superb (20 per cent gain) and Ford’s XR6 Falcon (37 per cent).And James Stanford did well to even get to Katherine on a postie bike fueled by methylated spirits and alcohol.For the record, the two Santa Fes – the other being driven by rally veteran Ed Ordynski and motoring guru John Cadogan – averaged an affordable 5.8 and 5.9l/100km, which is about 12 per cent below the official fuel consumption guide. And yes, Ed’s team had the air conditioning off as well.We would have done better had we not stopped at nearly all of Darwin’s traffic lights. A red light is a cruel thing to face when you are trying to be smooth.The biggest winner for the day was the all-electric Tesla roadster, the $160,000 silent rocket that drew crowds. Owner Simon Hackett says he’s getting 400km between recharges – being done from a portable generator on the back of a truck. 

Car companies are about to be put to the test in the Global Green Challenge and Carsguide is going along for the ride. There are two key buzz words in today's world of clean, green motoring: more and less.Car buyers, pricked by an environmental consciousness, are driving demand for better efficiency to reduce the impact on their wallet and less emissions to reduce the impact on the environment.And there's an added caveat to this quest for green sustainability: it has to be affordable without robbing the family car of performance or driveability.Welcome to the challenge facing car designers as they chase motoring's holy grail — producing a workable, green friendly car for the future. A bookmark of just where the industry is at will be on display at the end of the month when the Eco Challenge for production cars, run in conjunction with this year's Global Green Challenge, sets out from Darwin on October 24 and heads south to Adelaide.It will be real-world 3000 kilometre reality check, albeit most of the driving will be on highways, to show buyers what more-for-less cars are available now, or the near future.This week car companies have been jostling as they line up for the starting grid — some have still to fully show their hand but organisers say 21 cars are expected to contest the Eco Challenge while a further 38 dedicated solar-powered cars will also follow the same route the following day in their own race.This year's production car field is an eclectic mix.Hyundai Hyundai is using the Global Challenge to launch its 2010 Santa Fe wagon, promising more power and reduced fuel consumption which will attract caravan owners looking for an alternative to heavier 4WDs.Hyundai's Team R has entered two Santa Fes, one of which will be driven by CarsGuide. The wagon gets Hyundai's new R turbo diesel and a new six-speed manual transmission along with a recalibrated suspension and steering package for our tougher road conditions. A six-speed automatic will be optional. The Santa Fe goes on sale at the end of the year.Skoda Skoda will use the event to showcase its new flagship, the Superb saloon. Skoda says the 2-litre direct injection turbo diesel is capable of 5.4l/100km on the highway, meaning you can marry luxury with economy.Suzuki will use the event to showcase the ability of the tiny Alto, which the carmaker claims can travel 100 kilometres on just 3.5 litres of precious fuel on the highway. Tests in India have already shown it can do better at 3l/100km.The car is being kept on the road by a team of apprentice automotive engineers from the Melbourne's Kangan Batman TAFE college.Holden Holden and Ford will be fighting each other in the Challenge. Holden had been tipped to show of a Commodore, which like Saab, can run on 85 per cent ethanol, or a diesel, but the General will instead showcase its recently launched 3-litre Omega Sportwagon, fitted with the new SIDI (Spark Ignition Direct Injection) engine and six-speed automatic transmission.Holden won't reveal what fuel economy goal it is aiming for but it maintains the SIDI is now the most fuel efficient Aussie-built six-cylinder in the market. Holden says the engine, rated at 9.3l/10km is 13 per cent more fuel efficient than the previous motor at 10.7l/10km.Ford Ford will come out fighting with an XR6 Turbo and a Fiesta Econetic which will be launched in November and has the potential to run at 3.7l/100km. Again, Ford won’t talk about economy goals.BMW BMW is another keeping its cards close to its chest until closer to race. It will have a fleet of three diesel Mini Ds, one of which is will be driven by former Le Mans winner Vern Schuppan. The 1.6-litre Mini diesel is capable of 3.9l/100km combined and 3.5l/100km on the highway.Tesla While all eyes will be on the known brands, one entry which will likely steal the limelight will be the all electric Tesla roadster — the world's first production all-electric car which is being entered by broadband company Internode.The company's managing director Simon Hackett imported the first car to Australia recently.Kia Kia has entered two LPG electric hybrid Fortes, which have a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a small electric motor and lithium-polymer batteries — a first for a mass-production small automatic car. Kia says it can return 5.6l/100km.Based on the Cerato, the Kia Forte has the potential to make it to the Australian market next year for less than $30,000. Based on the Cerato The Forte was launched in South Korea in August and displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month.NON-PRODUCTION AND EXPERIMENTAL CARS Independent team Deep Green Research has come to the party with an electric Honda.Students from South Australia's Annesley College have built a petrol/electric hybrid Holden Viva. The all-girl Annesley team has taken part in previous solar challenges but this is the first time they have entered the production car class. The students will be driving the car on the 3000km journey.Research and development company Intex is entering a four-cylinder petrol Ford Spectron Van with a retrofit hybrid system that converts the drivetrain to a plug-in hybrid electric.Absent This year Toyota is a notable non-starter after impressing in 2007 with its Prius.And there has been a late scratching with Volvo confirming it was withdrawn its two C30 DRIVe hatchbacks because they are stuck on a ship from Europe, a victim of stormy weather in the Atlantic. Volvo had high expectations for the 1.6-litre diesel which sips a claimed 3.8l/100km. The eco hatch will now be launched in Australia early next year. 

Back in the hairy-chested days of motoring, real men drove V8s; fuel was aplenty and a greenie was someone adept at growing spuds and peas in the back garden. But then the glory days came to an end. Fuel supplies are under threat, Greenies have become our social conscience and anyone driving a V8 is considered, by some, as being akin to an eco terrorist.We are told by those smugly behind the wheel of their hybrids that big V8s suck fuel; fuel is precious, therefore the muscle car is doomed. Or is it? Reports of its impending death are premature — in fact there was been a resurgence in V8 sales of late.That is due in part to car companies getting clever in the way they have got around the V8-so-it-must-be-thirsty problem. The answer is to turn a V8 into a V4 when all that power is not needed — and let's face it most V8s run well under a full load for most of the time.Shutting down cylinders is not a new idea but up until now there wasn't the affordable technology available to make the system work smoothly and reliably. The advancement of computers solved that problem, with General Motors leading the way in 1981.Today, companies like Honda (Variable Cylinder Management) and Chrysler (Multi-Displacement System) have joined the bandwagon, deactivating part of an engine when full power is not needed. Honda's Accord V6, for example, can happily run on all six, four or even three cylinders depending on engine load.Switching off cylinders means potential savings in fuel consumption and more importantly, reduced greenhouse nasties at the exhaust pipe.AFM drivetrain and fuel consumptionHolden has taken up the technology, offering its Active Fuel Management (AFM) system on all its automatic V8 models. Does it save a bucket load of money in lower running costs? The short answer is no, but there are savings to be made if you drive smoothly and wisely.I've been behind the wheel of Holden's impressive 6.0-litre Calais V, a car which can give its European rivals a run for their money in the prestige market. After three days of a mix of city and highway running, the V8 averaged a remarkable 11.1l/100km. By the end of the week and more city use, the consumption readout had slipped to 13.4l/100km, peaking at 14.6l/100km after all concept of driving with any frugality in mind went out the window. Holden says AFM can reduce fuel consumption by a litre per 100km, with the Calais' official fuel consumption rated at 12.9l/100km.But the AFM system can be a little odd at times. For example, sitting stationary at the traffic lights the engine, under no load, runs on all eight cylinders. You have to ask why? Plant your foot and the V8 does spring into life, but it lacks the satisfying raw V8 growl of a beast under the bonnet. It's more refined than that and very much in keeping with the car itself.It's hard to pick when the V8 shuts down half its cylinders (numbers 1,4,6 and 7) and runs as a four; the change is smooth. You can keep an eye on what's happening thanks to a readout in the instrument panel which tells you when all eight or just four pots are firing and what the instant fuel consumption is, so it becomes a bit of a party game to try and get the best readout possible.Holden says full V8 power is restored within a claimed 20 milliseconds when acceleration is needed. The bad news is that AFM robs the standard V8 engine of 10kW of power and 13Nm of torque, but the AFM's 260kW is still rewarding.Price and fitoutThe Calais V sells for $60,990 plus on-road costs but Holden recently launched a 60th anniversary model with a bit more bling for $63,290 — if you can find one.The Calais is a big, comfortable family car with a bright and airy cabin and good storage space. It already packs a lot of safeties and feel-good bling anyway including six airbags, traction and stability control, dual-zone climate air conditioning, comprehensive digital dashboard display, ceiling mounted DVD player with cordless headphones for backseat passengers, quality sound system, leather upholstery, power adjustable front seats, park sensors and auto wipers and headlamps. The test car came fitted with optional satellite navigation and sunroof.DislikesThe A pillar is too heavy and blocks vision, the handbrake is a finger pinching disaster of design, the rear seats don't fully split, only leaving a small ski hatch to the boot and there are too many warning beeps and buzzers to remind you to put you seatbelt on, when you select reverse and when you go back to drive.The bottom lineYou can have a V8 and display a paler shade of green. If you need the power of a V8, especially for towing, then the AFM version of the Calais makes sense. Holden Calais V AFMPrice: from $60,990Engine: 6-litre V8 with Active Fuel ManagementPower: 260kW, 517Nm; CO2 329g/kmFuel consumption: 12.9l/100km claimedTransmission: Six-speed sequential auto with manual shift if required

While the world is turning to hybrids, work is quietly continuing on developing a new petrol engine. The goal is to combine the best bits of petrol and diesel motors while negating the handicaps of both.The means an engine with greater efficiency and range with a cleaner exhaust.The technology — homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) — has been around since the 1970s but until now only the trucking industry has taken it seriously. But car companies are revisiting the concept to as a way of reducing fuel consumption without the loss of power or performance.It works by mixing petrol with air outside the combustion chamber, just like a conventional petrol motor. But the difference is that the gas is then compressed in the cylinder to produce heat which creates combustion — like a diesel - without the need for sparkplugs.Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Honda have all dabbled with the technology but General Motors in the United States is the latest car company to pick up the HCCI baton to try and bring the engine into production and has prototype cars running in both America and Europe. However the future of the project is now uncertain after General Motors filed for bankruptcy this week.Until now there have been plenty of obstacles in developing the HCCI engine because the explosive combustion process has been difficult to control with any accuracy, especially under various speeds and engine loads.The advent of microprocessors has solved part of that problem and GM says it still uses conventional spark plugs for cold starting before the spontaneous combustion takes over once the cylinders are brought up to temperature.The beauty of HCCI system is that it compared to a conventional petrol engine it produces fewer noxious exhaust gases so it doesn't rely on expensive catalytic converters to reduce emissions. The system also overcomes the petrol engine's biggest handicap that up to 80 per cent of thermal energy created in the combustion process is wasted.GM says an HCCI engine could come close to matching the efficiency of a typical hybrid engine at a fraction of the production cost.GM claims to have achieved up to 15 per cent better fuel efficiency over a conventional engine with no substantial loss of performance and the system can work from idle right up to 100km/h.

Its first all-wheel drive, which will become one of the world's smallest crossovers, looks set to go sale in Australia late in 2011.The yet-to-be-named crossover, which is nearly production-ready, is likely to be launched at the Detroit Motor Show in January and go on sale in Europe and the United States late next year. It should arrive in Australia six to nine months after that.It had been tipped that the wagon would be shown at the Geneva motor show in March, but Mini has reserved that spotlight to launch a JCW version of its sexy new cabrio which is coming to Australia next year.Mini is still remaining coy about the crossover, the first Mini not to be built at its traditional home in Oxford, England. Instead it will come off the same production line as the existing BMW X3 at the Magna Steyr plant in Austria.The X3 will soon shift to Spartanburg to make way for the crossover which will be built on an all new and larger 4.1-metre platform. It had been tipped Mini would use BMWs new X1 platform but Mini insiders say this has been discounted as not practical.What we do know is the crossover will use a modified version of BMW's full time xDrive system which proportions drive between front and rear axles. Mini engineers have had to convert it from having a rear-wheel drive bias as in BMWs X3 and X5 to fit Mini's primarily front-wheel drive layout.As for the name: forget Crossman, as widely reported by German media. It definitely won't be called that.“We had issues with MAN trucks over the Clubman name so we won't go there,” says Andreas Hofmann, the head of Mini's marketing communications.“We are still working on the name and choice of engines."The engine range is expected to match those under the bonnet of the existing Mini line-up but Hofmann hinted a diesel was more than likely for selected markets including Australia.Production costs will mean the crossover will come as a conventional four-door wagon which is cheaper to build, although the design of the tailgate whether a single door, two barn doors or a split lift up, drop down design still has to be signed off.Mini has been studying several tailgates on the crossover test mule which has kept the media guessing."We will be making a final decision on the design within three months," Hofman says.The crossover concept, shown at the last Paris Motor Show, had a sliding rear passenger door on one side and a conventional door on the other.And while the third generation Mini hatch will be launched in 2012, Mini traditionalists can relax — it won’t be stretched any further to fit on the longer crossover platform.Mini insiders say there won’t be a maxi Mini. The current hatch will not grow any more in size as it would be out of proportion on the crossover’s 4.1-metre long platform.If you’re hanging out for a hot hatch Mini with all-wheel drive, you will be waiting for a long time.Mini will fit a BMW-sourced xDrive system to its upcoming crossover wagon but the system won’t be fitted to any other model just yet.A Mini all-wheel drive JCW hatch or cabriolet would be desirable as a flagship, but Mini says it would be far too expensive.