Articles by Neil Dowling

The Cross Country (hence, XC) version adds all-wheel drive, increased ride height, a hard-edged body kit, integrated skid plate and roof rails. It goes on display at the Paris motor show this month but though Volvo Australia says it's on the wish list, it's too early to talk price, specifications and delivery times. Volvo Car senior vice president of product, Lex Kerssemakers, says the Cross Country was designed "for those who want a sense of adventure in their everyday life''. "The new V40 Cross Country is built on the heritage that started with the V70 Cross Country back in 1997,'' he says. Australia has the pick of the drivetrain options though likely to stay away from the less powerful versions. In Europe - where it starts production next month with deliveries in January - the V40 Cross Country will be offered in front-wheel and all-wheel drive. The all-wheel drive (AWD) will be standard equipment on the T5-powered cars. There will be three turbo-diesel engines - a 85kW/285Nm 1.6-litre and two 2-litres (132kW/400Nm and 110kW/350Nm) - and two turbocharged petrol engines - a 1.6-litre four and a 2.5-litre five-cylinder. The 2.5-litre T5 petrol engine has 190kW/400Nm and claims 8.2 L/100km. The 1.6-litre direct-injection T4 petrol has 135kW/270Nm and Volvo claims it has a fuel average of 5.5 L/100km. Three transmissions will be available - a six-speed manual, a six-speed automatic (T5) and a six-speed dual-clutch automatic (T4). AWD is standard on the T5 and to expand it's go-anywhere appeal, adds hill-descent control and a hill holder system. It can be optioned with a TFT digital instrument display that includes a three-mode driving program - Elegance, Performance or Eco - depending on driver mood and road conditions. Volvo claims the Cross Country will carry over all the features of the V40 hatchback. This includes stop-start as standard across the range, together with Bluetooth hands-free communication and audio streaming. There is also a mobile application the allows the driver to stay in touch with the parked car via an iPhone or Android smart phone. An extension of Volvo On Call, the app is free to download and is designed to offer the owner an intuitive, easy-to-use relationship with the car from a distance. For example, the owner can check fuel levels before starting the journey or get information on wiper fluid or oil levels, or check whether the car has been locked. Safety items as standard are City Safety auto-braking technology and the V40's world-first pedestrian airbag. The car is claimed to be the only one in its class to be available with Pedestrian Detection technology. Volvo Car, owned by Geely of China, says it expects to sell 17,000 units a year - about 50 per cent to Europe and around 30 per cent to China. It will be built alongside the V40 and R-Design models at Volvo's factories in Belgium.  

Based on the 1-Series – and essentially a 1-Series GT – the concept car to be unveiled at Paris motor show is the first front-wheel drive vehicle with a BMW badge. The rounded, family-oriented hatchback concept is the precursor to a range of BMW compact hatchbacks, SUVs and coupes that sit on a new platform to be shared with the Mini. BMW claims the Tourer - which takes on the Mercedes-Benz B-Class as well as a raft of SUVs - is its first premium compact vehicle to combine comfort and space functionality with dynamic performance and style. It's not just its front-wheel drive design - overturning decades of rear-wheel drive models and the company's staunch mandate for the layout - that will make the Tourer stand out. The concept is to be shown as a plug-in hybrid and using the same drivetrain as the upcoming i8 coupe hybrid. "The eDrive concept familiar from the BMW i8 is used here for the first time in a model of the core BMW brand and will in future be the designation for all electric and plug-in hybrid drives,'' BMW's head office says in a statement. "It covers all components of the electric drive, the electric motor developed by BMW, the lithium-ion battery and the intelligent engine control unit.'' Like the i8, the Tourer gets a three-cylinder 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine - half a 3-litre six-cylinder unit - that acts as a power unit and generator for the onboard lithium-ion batteries. But it also has plug-in capability which means these batteries can be charged up when the car is parked. It has an electric-only range of about 30km when fully charged. BMW claims the Tourer accelerates to 100km/h in less than eight seconds and has a theoretical (in Australia) top speed of 200km/h. The average fuel consumption is less than 2.5 litres/100km and CO2 emissions are less than 60g/km. BMW estimates that annual growth rates of up to 5 per cent are expected in the small car and compact segment of the premium class in the near future. "For this reason, the BMW Concept Active Tourer is a key component in the ongoing development of the BMW brand and its model portfolio,'' it says. ``As a plug-in hybrid, the BMW Concept Active Tourer also provides a glimpse ahead to future drive variants in automobiles of the compact class.''  

BMW 120i and Toyota 86 GTS go head-to-head in this comparative review.

Incorrect calculations by journalists are responsible for rumours that General Motors was losing almost $50,000 for each Volt sold, says former GM executive Bob Lutz.Firing back at the reports within a Reuters article, Lutz called the loss estimate as "preposterous''. He should know. Lutz was the guy who led the electric Volt's program.The range-extender electric sedan is due here in November as the Holden Volt. Lutz, answering Reuters reports in his column in Forbes magazine, says costs were "very roughly'' equal to the price of the car - that is, $US37,000.He says that Reuters only used figures based on the number of cars sold to date - not amortising the figures over the expected life of the model.GM last month sold a record 2831 Volts, beating the prior record of 2289 cars in March. In the year to date, GM has sold 13,497 Volts, more than four times the sales of the same period in 2011. Holden will start selling the Volt in November for about $60,000. 

Bauxite is an age-toughened rock or gravel that can be turned into metal (aluminium). But it is so tough it can just as easily turn metal into gravel.

The Mazda6 - due in Australia in March 2013 - stores the braking energy in capacitors. The benefit of capacitors include being a fraction of the weight of batteries and the ability to quickly charge and discharge.The capacitors are marketed under the "i-Eloop'' name and work in conjunction with Mazda's "iStop'' stop-start system. Stop-start turns the engine off when the car is stationary. The stored energy is generally used to restart the engine and help run the airconditioning and audio functions.But Mazda's system uses a different technique to restart the engine. All the capacitor's power goes into maintaining ventilation, audio and other electrical features while the car is stationary. iStop, which is standard on the Mazda3 SP20 and CX-5, aims to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.Mazda Australia spokesman Steve Maciver says iStop and i-Eloop are the second "building blocks'' of Mazda's goal to maximise fuel efficiency. "The first was SkyActiv engines and transmissions,'' he says. "Now we're introducing the next step which is to use regenerative braking to further cut emissions and fuel consumption."We expect these to be rolled out on future models.''Both models of the next Mazda6 will have the "i-Eloop'' regenerative braking system. Mr Maciver says the new model will be available from launch as a sedan or wagon. "There is no hatch,'' he says. "Our research found that the majority of buyers of the hatch bought it for its coupe styling. Only a small fraction bought it for its larger boot access."The next sedan and wagon have a more coupe-like style than the current model.'' Mazda has dropped the liftback from its global production. The Mazda6 will also introduce the SkyActiv 2.5-litre petrol engine, a bigger version of the 2-litre now fitted to the Mazda3 SP20 and CX-5.It runs on standard unleaded petrol and delivers 138kW/250Nm - up 13kW/24Nm on the current 2.5-litre engine. The 2.2-litre diesel is shared with the CX-5 and has 129kW/420Nm. For the first time, it will go into a Mazda passenger car with an automatic transmission.* Regenerative braking systems, now common on many vehicles, use a generator to create electricity as a car brakes or coasts. This electricity either tops up the car's existing battery or stores it in additional batteries. 

It confirmed yesterday that the 5008 seven-seater was one treat on the way from France as Peugeot expands its model range.Expected here around June, the 5008 van will seat up to seven people and be flexible enough to work part-time as a tradesman's vehicle. The van has been in Europe since 2009 but never previously been on Peugeot's wish list. It has the same platform and drivetrain as the Citroen C4 Picasso and the Peugeot 308 and 3008.Peugeot Australia boss Bill Gillespie says the timing suits the 5008's entry into Australia. “We're not replacing the 4007,” he says of the Japanese-built SUV that is a clone of the current Mitsubishi Outlander. “So to have a seven seater in our line-up we will take the 5008.”Mitsubishi - which has agreements with Peugeot-Citroen owners PSA on cars including the i-MiEV electric car and the 4007-Outlander – next month replaces the Outlander with a new model. PSA has decided not to take that model but continues to share the 4008-ASX SUV Compact twins.Peugeot also has a seven-seat 3008 model but the bigger 5008 is seen as suiting an extended family or as a vehicle for a combination of leisure and working duties. Mr Gillespie says that the 5008 doesn't mimic the styling of the current crop of SUVs. He says it's aimed at the seven-seat market - but he doesn't term it a people mover.“It will compete mainly with the Honda Odyssey and Hyundai iMax,” he says. “It's not in the Tarago or (Kia) Carnival size - it's more compact than these.” He says it's too early to talk of prices and specifications, though he's hoping for a mix of petrol and diesel. Peugeot sells the 5008 in Europe with an 115kW/240Nm 1.6-litre petrol and two diesels including the 120kW/40Nm 2-litre version also in the Citroen C4. 

India will be a major supplier to Ford's Asian plants, including making engines for the Australian-bound Fiesta and Focus. Engines will also go to Europe. Ford executive of manufacturing for Asia Pacific, Gary Johnson, overnight says: “From an engine perspective, we'll be exporting not just to Europe but also to Thailand”. Thailand makes the Ford Fiesta and Focus passenger cars, as well as the Ranger ute. If somewhere needs more engines and we've got the capability, then we're going to ship them,'' Mr Johnson says. India has three manufacturing plants in India. One makes the small Fiesta-based EcoSport SUV - in Australia early next year - and another is an engine plant that now makes a 1.2-litre petrol and 1.4-litre diesel.A 1-litre turbo-petrol engine - to be used in the EcoSport, Fiesta and Focus - is being added to production. Mr Johnson says Ford has the capacity in India to build 600,000 engines by 2015. It will also be capable of building 450,000 small cars. Ford boss Alan Mullaly, speaking to Carsguide in Delhi in February this year, says that in Asia, India would be a centre for light to small cars while “other Asian” centres would make small to mid-size cars (for example, Focus in Thailand).Ford has invested more than $2 billion to build factories in India. It is rated eighth in terms of sales in India, behind market leaders Hyundai - which makes the i20 for Australia in India - and Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra-Ssangyong. Ford India currently exports 40 per cent of its engine production and 25 per cent of its car production to 35 countries, primarily in Asia and Africa. 

The Accord, here in the middle of next year, boasts a bigger cabin with more luggage room but overall, is about 130mm shorter. It is also 25kg lighter thanks to its 56 per cent use of high-tensile steel. Unusual for Honda is that this car will be the same for its global markets. Previously there were design and structural differences between Accords made in the US and, for example, Thailand, Japan or China. New is a continuously-variable transmission (CVT) that replaces the five-speed conventional automatic. A six-speed manual remains an option in the 2.4-litre while the 3.5-litre carry-over V6 - with cylinder management that lets it run on three cylinders - gets a six-speed automatic. Honda claims the CVT will mean better fuel economy and improve acceleration. Honda's "Earth Dreams'' drivetrains make an appearance with three powerplants - a new 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine, a V6 and a hybrid. Unlike many of its rivals, there is no turbocharging. The 2.4-litre claims more power, better fuel economy and lower emissions than its predecessor. It will have direct petrol injection and an updated variable-valve timing system that includes variable cam timing. It is expected to produce about 140kW. Plans are for a new two-motor Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) Accord model next year but Honda Australia hasn't made a call on this. It will be the first time Honda has put this technology into production. Information released the week in the US says the two-motor hybrid system allows engine power to drive the front wheels, charge the battery pack or power the generator. It is similar in design to the Holden Volt's drivetrain. The car defaults to electric-drive mode from startup and - after being charged up overnight - can drive for up to 25km before the petrol engine automatically kicks in to charge the batteries. It is expected to have a range greater than 800km and a fuel economy equivalent of more than 2.4 L/100km. Honda says a 240-volt charging system can recover 12km of electric-only range in 30 minutes and fully charge in an hour. The car can run its climate control full blast and remain in electric mode. The PHEV Accord will be joined in most global markets later in 2013 by a cheaper, more conventional hybrid that has the same drivetrain design as the Civic Hybrid model. Honda has also dropped the double-wishbone front suspension and reverted to the more common MacPherson strut system. It made the same move with the Civic about six years ago. The Accord will also have electric-assist steering to further reduce fuel consumption. Honda Australia expects the Accord here in the middle of 2013.  

Dismiss this article about a large Australian car and it may cost you money. Despite what you may have been told, you can buy a big, affordable made-for-Australia car that will beat European diesels hands down in running costs.The reason is gas - liquified petroleum gas (LPG) that is about half the price of petrol, available almost everywhere and home-made from a gas shelf near you. The similarly-equipped Omega wagon with the 3-litre V6 petrol is $6000 cheaper than the LPG Berlina here and appears to get better fuel economy at 9.2 L/100km.But the 12.3 L/100km of the LPG version actually equates to about 6.5 L/100km because LPG is half the price of petrol. Holden says the range is now about 700km.If that doesn't swing you, the capped service on the LPG-fuelled Berlina is $265 a year for the first three years and Holden finance is now 0.5 per cent comparative rate. Then there's the $2000 rebate from the government. But - and there's always a but - this car's rate of depreciation would make an incoming Space Shuttle jealous.The Berlina model tested has extra gear over the entry-level Omega which lifts it out of the fleet brigade. But at $47,990 it's not especially cheap. Value is in the similar LPG-fuelled wagon limited edition Equipe. It costs $42,490 and includes 18-inch alloys, leather upholstery, metallic paint and a rear camera.The Berlina alone isn't bad - rear-park sensors, iPod/USB/Bluetooth audio, colour touchscreen monitor, 17-inch alloys and an electric driver's seat.Once rated alongside noses for their ubiquity, the Commodore wagon has been driven off the streets by small-engined Asian cars. Styling is a traditional Aussie rear-drive two-box shape and despite the squeezed parameters in which Holden designers live, the Sportwagon - nee station wagon - is a pleasant and purposeful thing.There's heaps of cabin room, flat-fold rear seats and firm-but-comfortable front seats borrowed from Lufthansa. But the dashboard design is aging fast and the fold-down handbrake lever is itching for a chance to pinch the skin on your fingers.The LPG system is now dedicated - that is, no more dual-fuel compromise - but remains a vapour system. So it takes the liquid from the 84-litre rear-mounted tank and warms it to gas before plunging it into the engine's cylinders. It's not as efficient as the new Ford EcoLPi liquid-injection unit.This tester is a 3.6-litre V6. The LPG Commodores get the proper six-speed automatic and other than the fact they dish out more torque than the petrol equivalent, that's about the extent of new-age innovation. Regardless, it's a simple and durable package.This is a high point. In addition to being surrounded by a lot of metal and having so much space around the occupants, the Commodore gets electronic stability and traction control, a five-star crash rating, rear camera, park sensors, brake assist and a string of other aids. There's also six airbags. Holden gets an elephant stamp for offering a choice of spare wheels.The aerosol repair kit is standard then you can offer money for a collapsed spare, a space-saver spare or a real wheel. The tester had a real one but to make it fit, it sits upright in the wagon's cargo area and limits load carrying.Holden employees like to drive. That's evident in a family wagon that has very predictable handling and even the "fun'' word can be applied. It's a sure-footed car that has very accurate steering feel, flat cornering stance and excellent ride comfort over uneven surfaces. Tyre noise on coarse bitumen is low compared with most imports. It's a big car but handles like one a lot smaller, though the large-diameter steering wheel can feel bus-like.The LPG engine is responsive - though needs extra cranks to start - but sounds harsh and thrashy when under acceleration. The saving grace is the six-speed automatic. Also unfavourable is the soft brake pedal feel. But, above these minors, the wagon is actually a good drive and though some cabin plastics may tell you otherwise, the car feels more durable on the road than many rivals