Articles by Kevin Hepworth

"I would absolutely love to have one in Australia," Honda Australia senior director Lindsay Smalley says. "We are working towards making that happen."  Smalley believes the need to have a real world example of future technology — presently only on show in Japan and America—available for key groups to touch and experience can not be overestimated."To have a Clarity in Australia would be an exceptionally powerful statement of direction for Honda and would really reinforce Honda's position on providing leadership in the industry," Smalley says.  "If we could get it we would have special interest groups, journalists, governments drive it. I would love to be able to compete in the solar challenge in a special category — an event like that would really maximise the effect."Part of the strategy would be to use a Clarity to talk to governments about alternative fuel strategies — not just fuel cells.  "We would also use it as a vehicle to talk to governments about broadening Australia's thinking on fuel and infrastructure. At the moment the discussion on electric vehicles is great but really there is zero discussion on natural gas and that is another opportunity not being taken."The time to be talking about this now, not in the long term. If the cars are ready and the infrastructure is not there ... I am sure there are other importers who are heading down the hydrogen path, whether that is fuel cells or hydrogen as a fuel in internal combustion engines.  At the moment the government only has ears for the local manufacturers, and that is understandable given the situation with jobs. It is difficult to get any government to look too far down the track but there are visionaries on both sides of government and I am sure we will see a greater pressure not to maintain our reliance on brown coal, black coal and oil."One thing Smalley is adamant on is that any hydrogen used to fuel the Clarity will have impeccable green credentials — even if that means importing an expensive solar-powered hydrogen plant.  "We have done a lot of investigation into it and there is plenty of hydrogen available (in Australia) but it is not green hydrogen."The only way we could do that would be to bring out a solar hydrogen plant. They are available but they are about $2 million.  "Possibly we could borrow one for a period of time ..."Make One Degree of difference today by calculating your carbon footprint and finding out what you can do to reduce it, use the carbon calculator.

If hybrid technology is the road to the future, the fuel cell may well be the destination.

It doesn't really matter what you call it, the push is all about sustainability and leaving as much as we can from this generation for the next rather than gobbling up finite resources with no regard

That would give the green Honda a substantial $10,000 price advantage over the Toyota Prius, its only real competitor in the Australian market.

Oils well that ends well ... that could well be the lesson from Subaru Australia's painfully drawn out entry into the diesel market.  The arrival this week of an oil-burning Outback powered by a 2-litre turbocharged boxer diesel is the culmination of more than a decade of global Subaru's slow and steady approach to developing the world's first flat four diesel for passenger use."The diesel was completely done in house," Subaru Australia's Nick Senior says. "There were a couple of reasons for the extended wait and just one of those was that a diesel engine is, by definition , quite an expensive engine to design and to build."When you are putting a business plan together you need to see a return on your investment and the major markets around the world that Subaru compete in — Japan and the US — are not big diesel markets."Senior says that while Europe and Australia had always shown interest in the engine Subaru sales in those markets did little to encourage head office to push ahead with the development.  "There was well over a decade of just studying the European market before they could establish a business case. Then they basically had to start from a clean sheet of paper because there is no passenger car boxer diesel anywhere in the world. Subaru set out to be innovative, do it all themselves and design it in-house."Senior says Australia started to push seriously for the diesel "a few years ago".  "We knew we wanted the car and I was fortunate enough to drive it about three years ago at the proving ground. That was back-to-back against some well-known European brands and it was obvious then that they had produced a car that was as refined as the Europeans and head-and-shoulders above some of the Japanese models that were there."In some ways it was fortunate that we waited until now as we have the new platform and the six-speed automatic rather than the five-speed that was on the first generation 18 months ago."PricingThe Outback 2.0D sits on the same new-generation platform as the current Liberty and Outback petrol models and shares the same equipment and trim levels but will come with a $2500 premium over the 2.5-litre petrol wagon. Not surprisingly, Subaru has worked out that driving 25,000 kilometres a year with the 6.4L/100km economy that premium will be returned in fuel savings in 20 months.The entry-level 2.0D manual is $40,490 (plus onroads), the Premium is $43,990 and the Premium with satellite navigation is $46,490.  While only available in a six-speed manual, Senior doesn't believe the lack of an automatic will be an issue despite the almost 70 per cent of all cars sold being automatic."I don't know whether that is a problem," Senior says. "There is no automatic so there is no point getting hung up about it. We will just concentrate on selling the six-speed manual.  "Obviously they will look at an automatic in the future, but it is not a short-term thing."Senior says early reaction from the market has been very positive with dealers already holding orders ahead of this week's launch, although supply is expected to be restricted at least until the first quarter of next year.  The diesel will roll out into the Forester around the middle of next year but that will be the last of Subaru's to get a diesel, at least in the short term"For now it will only be offered in the SUVs," Senior says. "It will be a great fillip for our rural dealers and those customers are the ones where there is a greater propensity to consider a diesel ... and where much of the pre-launch excitement has come from."DrivingOn the road the horizontally opposed diesel boasts all the benefits of the more traditional compression ignition engines — good economy and huge urge through the mid-range chief amongst them — and has a level of refinement that may not have been expected from a first effort.  It is not benchmark for quietness and smoothness — it is actually some way off the very best of the modern high-end diesels, but in the value market where it lives there are few better.With 110kW of power and 350Nm of torque, that maximum urge is available only from 1800-2400rpm but a large percentage of it starts earlier and hangs around later, the 2.0D is not rocket but it does make for a relaxed drive with the six gear ratios well suited to the engine.  For all intents and purposes the 2.0D drives very much like its petrol stablemate, the extra weight of the engine kept low by the boxer design and ably handled by the refined suspension set-up in the new generation Outback.Equipment levels are exactly the same as the equivalent petrol model, the diesel gets the same five-star safety rating and air-bag count as the petrol models ... the only real difference is the extra noise when the engine is cold, considerably reduced as it warms to the task, and the lack of an automatic.For fans of diesels these are not new characteristics and certainly will not equate to any form of discouragement. 

Subaru has put the finishing touches to its Liberty range with the arrival of the Exiga wagon.The family-friendly Exiga six-seater is much more than Subaru's traditional wagons — and while Subaru Australia is at pains to avoid the poison chalice description of people-mover it makes no apologies for the niche nature of the latest addition."Liberty Exiga is a versatile family wagon that adds a new dimension to our mid-size wagon line-up," Subaru Australia managing director Nick Senior says. "It means we have now got the Exiga for families needing the flexibility of a six-seat cabin, we have five-seat Liberty wagon and for those with a more recreational focus we've got the Outback range."Pricing and sales Sales targets for the new model, which starts at $37,490 and runs up to $41,990 for the Premium trim, are modest at between 50 and 75 a month, particularly given the value equation of the car which comes in at up to $7000 under the price of the equivalent Liberty wagon.Some of the price difference is in equipment level variance but much of it is down to the Exiga not sitting on the new generation Liberty platform but rather on a hybrid of the Liberty and Forester/Impreza underpinnings."With the same safety levels across all these vehicles (five stars) it comes down to a lifestyle choice," Senior says. "With the depth in our medium wagon range we can meet the needs of the vast majority of customers."Fit-out and equipment The six-seat layout is not exactly what Subaru Australia had hoped for when the initial planning of the Exiga was undertaken but with the lack of a centre rear lap-sash seat belt — and no engineering development planned to provide one — the seven-seat version available in the Japanese domestic market is not a starter for Australia.Without the extra seating capacity the Exiga does boast a roomy interior and executive feel to the cabin while Subaru Australia has not stinted on the trim levels. The base car comes with the company's Lineartronic CVT (constantly variable transmission), a DVD entertainment unit with two radio headsets (more are available as accessories) for the rear seat passengers, ABS, EBD, six airbags including curtain bags, stability control, dual zone air-conditioning, rake and reach adjustable steering, individual forward and aft adjustment on the centre-row seats, rear seat recline, 16-inch alloys, and DataDot security.The Premium model adds leather trim, 17-inch alloys, power front seat adjustment, Bluetooth enabled, satellite navigation and reversing camera.Driving The Exiga cabin, at least in the Premium model we have experienced, is a nice place to be. The seating is comfortable in the front, just as comfortable in the second row and adequate in the rear for a couple of adults short-term. Children or those of smaller stature would be very comfortable riding the third row for any length of time.While the luggage space when all the seats are deployed suffers similar shortcomings to most other six- and seven-seat models it is better than many in that it is quite useable for a jaunt to the beach, a shopping trip or some very lightly-packed travels.Fold the seats down using the 50:50 split of the third row and luggage concerns disappear. Utilise the 60:40 split of the second row and you could move house with the Exiga.Aesthetically the Exiga lacks the immediate charm of the Liberty. It is not unattractive but gives the clear impression of being the progeny of a Subaru that enjoyed a dalliance with a Honda Odyssey.Dynamically the Exiga loses little to the Liberty it shares a nameplate with. The overall impression is, not surprisingly given its genesis, a little softer and less focussed than the new Liberty range and the nature of a CVT can rob a car — any car — of the feeling of get-up-and-go with its seamless acceleration. You can always use the shift paddles set behind the steering wheel to pretend the gearbox has ratios.That doesn't make the Exiga sluggish — it isn't, and the proven 2.5-litre engine with its 123kW and 229Nm is a nice match to the car.Steering is light but pleasantly precise and the ride well suited to Sydney's broken road surfaces with plenty of compliance in the damping without any tendency to wallowing.Subaru claims a fuel economy of 8.6L/100km in combined cycle driving.Subaru Liberty Exiga Price: From $37,490Engine: 2.5L/4-cylinder Boxer; 123kW/229NmTransmission: CVT automaticEconomy: 8.6L/100km (combined cycle) 

It doesn't really matter what you call it, the push is all about sustainability and leaving as much as we can from this generation for the next rather than gobbling up finite resources with no regard

There is a little bit of black magic at work in the new Golf GTI. Through the dark arts of electric pulses, lightning-fast data transfer and endless streams of 1s and 0s between on-board computers the sixth generation of Volkswagen's most popular little sporty has shed its nasty understeer habits and learned to love corners."It is quite amazing, the first time I drove this car it was quite unbelievable," dual Le Mans winner and former F1 driver Hans-Joachim Stuck says. "It is all through electronics but the performance is very, very close to a mechanical limited slip differential. "You can drive it through corners now where previously it would have required specialist technique to avoid understeer."Stuck, speaking at the Australian launch of the GTI, joined the VW group just over two years ago under the stewardship of long-time friend and former VW chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder. His role covers a wide range of motorsport but specifically his initial task was to provide input and confirmation on the suspension and handling of the new GTI.The system that so impressed Stuck is the XDL (extended electron differential lock) which combined with the existing EDL (electronic differential lock) gives the front driver nearly all the characteristics of a limited slip differential assisted car. Simplistically, XDL uses sensors to read the wheel rotation, steering angle, wheel slip and a host of other parameters to compute the best combination of brake and torque to ensure maximum effect of the unloaded drive wheel when the car is tipped hard into a corner.The upshot is that power can be applied earlier and more enthusiastically through the corner without undue fear of the front end pushing through.Pricing and optionsAnd all of this is standard across a range in which the prices remain unchanged at $38,990 for the six-speed manual three-door and $40,490 for the five-door manual. As with the previous model the DSG automatic adds $2500.There is a substantial list of options: $1900 for a sunroof, $2500 for satellite navigation, $1300 for an upgraded audio system, $500 for a rear view camera, $3300 for leather trim, $2000 for dynamic bi-Xenon headlight, etc, etc — but the one must-have extra is the three stage adaptive chassis control ($1500), flowing on from the basic Golf VI and available for the first on the GTI.Volkswagen Group Australia is confident that the extraordinary level of pre-release interest will quickly translate to sales."This time there is not going to be the same supply issues we had with the last car," VGA general manager for marketing, Peter Dierks, says. "There are already 650 cars on the ground in Australia and another couple of hundred on the water. The longest a customer should have to wait for a special order car will be three months."Unlike the previous model the sixth generation GTI will be made at the home of Volkswagen in Wolfsburg.Appearance The design of the GTI pays homage to the original 1974 model with a tight horizontal grille rather than the gaping opening of the fifth generation, the use of red striping on the grille and placement of the lower air intake."It is a re-interpretation of the classic cues, but still recognisable as a GTI at first glance," Dierks says.Drivetrains There is little news on the raw performance front with the 2-litre turbocharged four up 8kW to 155kW while leaving the torque delivery untouched still a flat-bed of 280Nm peak urge on tap and ready to go from 1700rpm right through to 5200rpm.The minimal changes result in no real performance improvement but tweaks have allowed the claimed fuel efficiency to be improved by around 0.5L/100km, now 7.7L/100km for the manual and 7.6L/100km for the DSG.Driving The big changes are in how the car drives and the refinements that now make the manual a viable option to the DSG for anyone who still enjoys the idea of a connection with the car through clutch and gearshift.The adjustments to the manual give the gear lever a much more defined on-centre neutral position, shorter throws and a far sweeter and precise engagement of the ratios. With the amount of torque on hand sixth gear is only ever going to be seen on highway cruising with most of the business taking place between third and fifth.Overall, the nuts and bolts of changes to the GTI over the stand Golf are not huge but clearly very focussed.The car rides 22mm lower at the front and 15mm lower in the rear, the front track is 7mm narrower than it's more common sibling with a 1mm increase at the rear, it does get unique spring, rollbar and damper settings and of course the XDL programming.The safety package is impressive, with stability control, traction control, EDL, ABS, EBD and brake assist all standard along with seven airbags and a 5-star crash safety rating.Interior trim and equipment is as good as has come to be expected from VW with the standard tartan cloth trimmed sports seats both comfortable and supportive with a good range of manual adjustments.It doesn't take long on a twisty road to see just how big an improvement this generation Golf is over the one it replaces. The first tightening corner, approached with the caution instilled by a history of understeer, is dismissed by the GTI with an arrogant shrug and a "let's get on with this" attitude.More aggressive approaches, early application of throttle and increased steering inputs are all met with a balance and confidence the GTI, for all it's heritage as a sporty toy, could never previously claim. Obvious intervention from the stability control comes only after it becomes a challenge to find the limits of the little VW's new cornering prowess. For the record, it is well out beyond territory most owners will ever visit.Ride on the basic static chassis is a good compromise of tautness and comfort — not perfect, but no compromise is. However, with the optional adaptive chassis control the ability to suit the ride to the circumstance is considerably expanded. The comfort setting is considerably softer and best suited to situations where enthusiastic changes of direction are unlikely, or road surfaces are broken to the degree of being uncomfortable. The middle, or standard, setting is comparable to the static chassis experience while the sport setting both tightens the ride and sharpens the steering.Overall, an excellent compromise of sporting intent and day to day practicality. 

Joining the sixth generation garden variety Golf and its hot-hatch GTI cousin will be a first-time wagon, the performance-leading Golf R and possibly a diesel version of the GTI, the GTD.  "There will be lots of new models by next year," says Volkswagen Group Australia managing director Anke Koeckler. "A part of that new model line will be a Golf Wagon which is due in the first quarter of next year."Koeckler says the decision to bring the load-carrier Golf to Australia is not a sudden one but rather one delayed to await the arrival of the new generation car.  "This will be the new wagon with the new powertrains. We were a bit patient because we did not want to run with an old model ... what is the point of having a model that is already outdated."VW has been able to watch the success of another small wagon in the Australian market, the Hyundai i30CW, and draw confidence that the style of car is one Australian buyers will embrace.  "People want a bit more space without wanting to go to a big car," Koeckler says. "In Europe 60 per cent of Golf wagons go to fleets and that may also be an opportunity for us here to expand our fleet business."While the wagon is likely to appeal to a wide range of buyers, the GTD and the Golf R will have a much more focussed market appeal -- and ironically could be the final nail in the coffin of an Australian future for the sporty Scirocco."The Scirocco is still under assessment -- it is definitely not off the table -- but sports market, particularly in Australia, is only small and it could be difficult to make a case for that car and the GTI and the R and whatever," Koeckler says. "We will keep looking closely at it, but there are a lot of questions."The all-wheel-drive Golf R, the replacement for the superceded R32, will sit clearly atop the Golf range. The car boasts improved performance over the outgoing V6 model with a 199kW output from the high-po 2.0-litre turbo giving it a reputed 0-100km/h sprint of just 5.5 seconds, 1.4 seconds clear of the GTI.Plans to import the GTD, the diesel version of the GTI already on sale in Europe, is moving along confidently and with VW's strong footprint in diesel offerings in Australia looks to be a perfect fit for the range.  "We already have a strong experience and presence with diesel and with more companies recognising the value of diesel the acceptance in Australia is growing," Koeckler says. "Diesel offers a good performance option with low fuel consumption."The GTD is powered by a 2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel. Down 30kW on the GTI it has an additional 70Nm of torque give it a very impressive 350Nm of urge available almost from idle.  Typical of diesel cars the raw sprint times are not scintillating with a 0-100km/h burst of 8.1 seconds but the acceleration through mid-range when torque is king and a fuel efficiency of 5.3L/100km should make it an attractive option.VGA would not talk about pricing for either R or the GTD, saying only that they would be competitive.

Rapide by name, rapid by nature. That is the essence of Aston Martin's biggest step away from its traditional home ground in the company's almost 100-year history. At least the biggest until the arrival of the Cygnet next year.However, do not expect anyone behind the winged badge to budge an inch to any suggestion that this four-door, four-seater is anything but a traditional Aston Martin ... albeit with extra luggage space. "It is a sports car ... that is exactly what it is," Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez says at the company's Gaydon, England, headquarters as Carsguide prepares to be one of the first invited to ride in the radical new Aston. "The seats are real sports seats and when you sit in them you sit like you would in the front seat of the V12. The only thing missing is the steering wheel."There is a degree of licence in those comments — not because the seats are not sporting but rather because you are also missing any real sense of an outside world when tucked in behind the high-backed front seats. There is headroom and shoulder room for an average-sized adult, and leg room for a reasonably tall one ... but somehow it all still feels very tight.To be fair, I lean towards the claustrophobic and am not in the lithe category, but entry and exit to the rear is difficult. "I agree that it is not that easy to go in or go out for some people, but in that I would consider it like a Rolls-Royce where you have to also crawl in and crawl out," Dr Bez says. Any suggestion that Porsche's Panamera, a natural competitor for the Rapide, offers a better rear-seat experience is the equivalent of a flame to touchpaper."That is not a sportscar, it is a sedan ... a sports sedan," Dr Bez counters. "Our car is a sportscar. It looks like a sports car, it drives like a sports car, it is a sportscar ... and it is beautiful."Porsche may well take unbrage at the suggestion that their iteration of a four-door 911 is not a sportscar, however it would be difficult for the German meisters to mount a credible defence to the question of which designer has best represented the core product.AppearanceOur chariot for this first experience of the Rapide is a development prototype — a late one, to be sure but still not the finished item. The glass roof will not make an appearance on production models for some time yet and there are still a few tweaks and refinements being made in a bid to make the rear more comfortable for more people."There is some sculpting of trim around the C-Pillar and slight changes to the seat base to include some extra bolstering on the inboard side," Simon Barnes, Vehicle Engineering Manager and the man responsible for shepherding the Rapide through to the culmination of Dr Bez's vision of a true four-seat sportscar.With only a handful of completed Rapides in existence  a total of 35 development cars have been built but most are no longer with us Aston Martin is not about to trust its cars to anyone outside the company just yet. Still, with Barnes behind the wheel, the demonstration of the Rapide's competence as a performance machine is quite probably well beyond any limits an outsider would be prepared to push through a loop of English country roads."We have really set the car up to be on a performance par with the DBS," Barnes explains as the countryside flashes by at what would be an alarming rate in less practiced hands. "I am not about to give any firm performance figures now but there is enough evidence to suggest it will match the DBS ... at least. "There are some compromises to the more luxurious nature of the car  some softer suspension settings and less engine and exhaust noise intrusion  but in no way is the car compromised."That said, Barnes is already planning to incorporate the Rapide's suspension settings into the DB9 and DBS  — ‘they are actually better for handling’  — along with the car's torsional stiffness, an eye-watering 29,500 Newtons per single degree of twist (2500 more than the DB twins). The Rapide sits on a variant of the company's VH platform  according to Dr Bez, an evolving philosophy as much as a physical engineering structure  with a 250mm longer wheelbase than the DB9 and at just on five metres long it has an extra 450mm in overall length.DrivetrainUnder the bonnet is the bespoke Aston Martin 6-litre V12 punching out 355kW and 645Nm. For all its extra size the Rapide weighs in at less than 200kg more than the DB9 and boasts a 51:49 weight distribution. Oddly, Aston Martin will not offer the performance carbon ceramic brake package available on the light DB cars.The boot has just over 300 litres of space with a full passenger complement but with the rear seats folded flat that balloons to close to 1000 litres of useable luggage space."There is a huge variability in how you can use the car," Dr Bez says. "There is a very generous luggage space with the seats folded and even if you have one person in the back you can have the other side folded down for extra luggage."It is innevitable that the Rapide will take sales from the DB9 and DBS 2+2 cars, but Dr Bez says he is hopeful of as much as 80 per cent of the projected 2000 annual sales will be conquest. "Of course DB9 or DBS customers who need a little more space will go to this car, but they are not my main targets. There are many people who are happy to have a 2+2 and don't need anything more."But there are other people who may want to take family or friends on longer journeys where the back of a DB9 or DBS is just not suitable. However, while they need more flexibility they do not need or want a big car  they don't want an SUV or a limousine." What Aston Martin hopes to do is leverage off the brand's exclusivity and desireability."Our car is representative (of succcess and position) and in the same way delivers real freedom of space and sportscar performance. So, I am looking for people who are looking at or already own Maserati Quattreporte, BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S-Class or CLS and (Porsche) Panamera of course. "Rapide is absolutely a conquest vehicle. I would love to have 50 to 80 per cent of conquest with this car, not just the old Aston Martin guys saying `well, now I have something else'. Rapide should open us to a new group of customers who for whatever reason previously could not consider an Aston Martin."