Articles by Neil Dowling

Under the heading of Stuff We Don't Need To Know But Will Read Anyway comes a survey from UK-based dating website NineMSN's "Illicit Encounters'' that says if you own a BMW, you are more likely to have an extra-marital affair.Illicit Encounters spokesperson Rosie Freeman-Jones says "there's an intrinsic link between success and cheating''."Successful people are often risk-takers, and have got to where they are by setting their standards high,'' she says. "However, these people are also less likely to settle for unsatisfying relationships or monotony.''The survey claims to have polled its 640,000 (which seems an incredible amount) members and found that 19.21 per cent of male members who admitted to be unfaithful were BMW owners.Audi came in second as the choice of car for the wandering husbands with 8.79 per cent, then Mercedes with 8.23 per cent, Jaguar (6.59%) and Land Rover (4.94%). But it's not all about the blokes.Cheating wives also prefer BMWs with a score of 11.16 per cent of the site's female respondents. The car owners least likely to have an affair drive a Renault (0.28 per cent), Fiat and Chrysler (0.55 per cent each). Or drivers of these cars don't visit a dating site.

Youth around the world is starting to shun owning a car. In the US, fewer teens are getting their driver's licenses and more 20-somethings aren't sold on owning a car.Instead they are staying home, using social networks to connect with friends, and moving to big cities where mass transit makes car ownership optional. The trend has shaken concepts of traditional car design in Japan and the US, and is starting to affect ownership of cars by Australian youths. The Japanese call it "demotorization'' - a U-turn from earlier generations of Japanese who viewed car ownership as a status symbol.Toyota domestic sales manager Yoichiro Ichimaru says young people's interest is shifting from cars to communication tools like personal computers, mobile phones and services. Ford Motor Company's global trends and futuring manager, Sheryl Connelly, says cars also no longer symbolise freedom to American Gen Y as it did to baby boomers."Part of it is that there are a lot more toys out there competing for the hard-earned dollars of older teens and young adults,'' she says. "You can buy a lot of gadgets for just a fraction of the $8500 the average American spends each year to maintain a car, not to mention the average cost of buying the car in the first place".No car company will openly talk of the fear of a future without an audience for its product, but Toyota came close. In launching its 86 coupe in Japan, the company says the car was the result of youth turning away from the Toyota brand.It led to Toyota president and CEO Akio Toyoda creating a plan to produce sporty cars to appeal to a younger audience. "It is said that young people today have little interest in automobiles,'' he says."But I don't think it is that they have developed a dislike for cars, but rather that automakers have tended to move away from young people and car lovers.'' Toyoda said he wants the release of the 86 to be taken as a "message that Toyota will be a company for car lovers again''.But two months before the 86 goes on sale in Australia, the jury is still out on the buyer profile. Toyota in 2010 launched the youth-focused Rukus, a boxed five-door wagon built from Camry and Corolla parts and loaded with high-end audio and connectivity devices.Rukus sales in Australia in 2011 were a modest 1183 units - compared with 36,000 Corollas -  but the majority of buyers are from middle-aged to retired; people wanting a reliable, space-efficient wagon that isn't an SUV. In WA, the Curtin University's Sustainability Policy Institute reports that car use in Australia has declined for five years and public transport is increasing.It says that in Perth, public transport has grown 40 per cent in this decade and since 2004 car use per capita has declined by 7 per cent. Another study by the NSW Bureau of Transport Statistics shows people under 35 are becoming less likely to hold a licence.The bureau says that two decades ago, 79 per cent of the state's 20 to 24-year-olds had their full licence. That fell to 51 per cent by 2009. In the same period, the number of 15 to 19-year-olds with a full licence dropped by 20 per cent.In the US, creative marketing firm Scratch - part of the Viacom-owned MTV outfit - surveyed youth on behalf of client General Motors and found that 60 per cent of drivers aged 18 to 24 "would choose internet access over owning a car''.Scratch executive vice-president Ross Martin says the people surveyed "think of a car as a giant bummer''. "Millennials have more options and more decisions to make than any of us ever had,'' he says. "They look at buying a new car and financing and life in cities across the country and they ask themselves 'Do I really need to buy a new car right now?'."GM is aiming to reduce the age of its customers but is fighting statistics such as a 2008 US Federal Highway Administration report that says the portion of American 16-year-olds holding a driver's licence dropped to 29.8 per cent in 2006 from 43.8 per cent in 1998.Ford's futurist Sheryl Connelly says today's youth - what she calls Millennials - "feel tied down by a car''. "All the responsibilities of storing and maintaining it are just a hassle,'' she says. "Millennials have a more fluid concept of ownership. There used to be a stigma to renting that doesn't exist for Millennials, as long as they get access.It's more about access than pride of ownership.''Ford in the US is experimenting with car-sharing service, ZipCar, hoping to introduce students to its cars. "A lot of the time students can't afford to drive; it's not the car, it's the insurance and the maintenance,'' says Liz Elser, who manages Ford's partnership with ZipCar. Market research firm Strategic Vision says Millennials are much more critical of products.Its president, Alexander Edwards, says "they don't just want any car. They want the car they want.'' "Their attitude is often 'I don't need to get one since the one I really want I can't get','' he says. "In other words, many would rather hold out for an expensive new Audi later rather than drive around in an affordable, rattletrap old car they can get right now.''But he says Millennials are consuming both print and online automotive enthusiast media at about the same rate as previous generations and they're still looking for quality in the products they buy and/or use. "The quality cues are different today, but Millennials are still looking for quality first.'' GM product manager Mary Barra is more optimistic: "Eventually, they are going to want a car. And we will be there.'' 

And the most remarkable thing is that it hasn't been discounted for Australia. The G65 AMG "G-Wagen'' - the world's most powerful production 4WD - could be the third model here after the G350 turbo-diesel V6 and G55 AMG V8 petrol.Mercedes-Benz Australia says the same 450kW/1000Nm engine is in the S65 and SL65 and "at this stage we haven't confirmed the G65 AMG for our market''. Don't expect change from $550,000 if it makes it here - the fully-kitted G65 is two-and-a-half times the price of the G55 in Europe.What you get is a lot of bang for a lot of bucks. The G65 is the world's most powerful cross-country production vehicle with its 6-litre bi-turbo V12 tuned for maximum horses and scant regard to fuel consumption.Mercedes says the G65 will average 17 L/100km - but get it off the bitumen and that thirst could almost double. Mercedes revealed the G65 this week in its new line up of G-Class wagons for 2013.Company spokesman Jerry Stamoulis says Australia will get the new model G350 BlueTEC and G63 AMG in April 2013. If you expect big styling changes, forget it - the extent of its external design upgrades consists of the addition of some LEDs under the headlights.In Europe, the G-Class models includes the 155kW/540Nm 3-litre V6 turbo-diesel G350 BlueTEC and the 285kW/530Nm 5.5-litre V8 petrol G500, both as a long-wheelbase station wagon and the G500 as a short-wheelbase Cabriolet model.The range lifts to the 400kW/760Nm 5.5-litre bi-turbo petrol V8 G63 AMG and then the G63. The upgrades for the 2013 G-Class are all inside the cabin. Mercedes says the upgrades "reemphasise its position as the leader among off-road vehicles''.There is a redesigned instrument cluster and centre console with a colour screen between the two circular dials. Standard is Mercedes' Comand Online infotainment system with sat-nav and internet access.The G-Class was conceived in 1979 as a vehicle to be used primarily in tough off-road terrain. Market demand has changed that direction. Over the past 33 years, Mercedes-Benz has refined the very practically oriented off-road specialist by giving it a high-class interior and road-going qualities on a par with those of its premium saloons."The G-Class today is considered the top model among luxury-class cross-country vehicles, and has provided the gene pool for the other very successful SUVs built under the Mercedes-Benz brand,'' the company says in a statement. 

Alfa will start production of the affordable rear-drive sports-coupe 4C next year But it won't be Alfa making the car - Maserati has been charged with adding the Giulietta-powered 4C to its production line at Modena from May next year.It is expected to sell for about $65,000 in Europe, equivalent to about $80,000 in Australia thanks to domestic taxes and distribution, with annual production of about 2500 cars. The 4C was unveiled as a concept car at the 2011 Geneva motor show.The two-seater has a mid-mounted 1.8-litre engine that was shown in turbocharged version. It is 4m long and has a 2.4m wheelbase and Alfa says it would weight about 850kg. However, production models are likely to be heavier as they may not have the concept car's carbon-fibre components.The 4C follows the theme of the outrageously expensive, Maserati-built 8C Competizione which, in its final Spider iteration, cost the equivalent of about $280,000 in Europe. The 8C models were made from 2007 to 2010.The 4C will be built alongside the Maserati GranCabrio and GranTurismo models in Maserati's centre-city Modena factoryAt less than one-quarter of the 8C's price, the 4C is expected to be a hit not only in Europe but in the US where a large slice of its sales are expected to head as a hero model to Alfa's 2013 foray into the American market.The 4C will be built alongside the Maserati GranCabrio and GranTurismo models in Maserati's centre-city Modena factory. Maserati's upcoming new-generation Quattroporte and E-class mid-size "baby Quattroporte'' sedan will be produced at the former Bertone plant at Turin.About 50,000 cars are expected to be made at the Turin facility, possibly including platforms for some Chrysler and Fiat Group vehicles. The Bertone plant has a maximum capacity of 100,000 vehicles a year. Maserati says with the two new sedans - and possibly an SUV - it plans to sell 50,000 cars a year by 2015 in its 65 markets.

Living with a hybrid isn't like sharing your life with a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It's more like the Olsen twins - amusing, predictable, benign and needing very little in the way of sustenance.In fact, Toyota's Camry Hybrid is so easy to live with you'd wonder why people buy the petrol version.Unlike the Prius, the Camry Hybrid doesn't throw technological curve balls at the owner and demand some new skills to operate.Driving it is just pressing the start button and selecting gear - no funny gearshifter, no weirdo dashboard and no verbal fallout from passing motorists.Making hybrids affordable is the trick to increasing sales. Toyota has launched the Prius C - a ripper hatchback at $23,990 - and now upgrades the new and improved Aussie-built Camry Hybrid.Prices start at $34,990 - down $2000 on the old model - but the $41,490 Luxury version tested here rises $1500 but gets $4500 more equipment.The base H has excellent equipment levels but the Luxury adds stuff usually reserved for exxy Euro cars - blind spot monitor, auto high beam and sonar parking among the features.It uses one-third less fuel than the petrol Camry and costs $130 for each of the five services for the first four years or 75,000km. Beat that!If I see one more "cardigan'' tag applied to this car I will, seriously, puke. Those critics would go ga-ga if the Toyota badge was replaced with the BMW roundel.The new car is well proportioned and attractive - difficult design lines to master in a large car - and matches external subtlty with a spacious and efficient cabin that is simple and elegant.The Luxury gets leather and lots of electronic fruit but it's subtle there's no design overkill. The Hybrid boot is smaller than the petrol Camry but there's sufficient room for holiday luggage while the load-through hatch makes it a more flexible hauler than before.The Toyota Hybrids have an engine and two side-by-side electric motors. They work together or separate depending on demand.Though the driver can specify electric-only mode (which only goes for about 2km), there's no choice - or need - to switch to all-engine power. The engine is the same capacity as the petrol Camry but uses different combustion timing that better suits its hook-up with the electric motor.All power goes through a CVT automatic. There's brake regeneration - one electric motor acts as a generator when the car is coasting or braking and the energy goes back into the storage batteries.The petrol engine has no belts to drive ancilliaries - the water pump, airconditioner and power steering are driven by electric motors. All up, the car weighs 45kg less than before. And for the first time, the Camry Hybrid can tow - though only up to 300kg.Camry Hybrid picks up the safety features of the petrol Camry, with a five-star crash rating and seven airbags.The package also includes stability and traction control, ABS brakes with brake assist, hill-start assist, seatbelt warnings for the five seats and a reversing camera with the image on a 150mm touch-screen.The Luxury adds blind spot monitors in each mirror and automatic high beam. The spare is full-size.As I indicate, there's no special training needed for punting one of these. It's a Camry with the only initial offputting feature being the way it drives off silently on its electric motor. Toyota Australia has put a lot of work into the suspension, retuning it to improve handling.It now drives as well as any of its six-cylinder, rear drive competitors and, probably thanks to the extra weight in the rear courtesy of the batteries, feels a bit better planted than the petrol Camry.It is very comfortable, both in suspension suppleness and in the softer seats, and makes long distances quite enjoyable.I don't like the foot-operated park brake - it attacks my shin when I get in the car and is more difficult to gauge than a hand-operated lever - and question why the Camry should be so big.Seriously, all the technology would be even greater in a Corolla. But that's all I can complain about.

Heaven help a family seeking a compact SUV. There are about 150 distinct SUV models in the small and medium class -- and every one of them will fight tooth and nail for your business.Each has specific advantages but even narrowing it down will leave a long list. Stay with the most popular SUVs and you'll play safe - though may spend hours finding your car in a carpark - or go less mainstream and find unexpected costs and delays at service time.Australia's top-selling compact SUV this year is the Nissan X-Trail, followed by the Toyota RAV-4, Subaru Forester and Subaru XV.The Kia Sportage is 13th on the list but given its distinct style and easy temperament, probably deserves a lot more attention. Kia has sent its compact SUV into one of the most competitive market segments. Though it's beaten in sales numbers by more established players, the Sportage more than holds its head up in terms of value for money.The SLi tested gets standard gear including a reverse camera, electric seat lumbar, trip computer, six-speaker audio with iPod and USB connectivity, Bluetooth and two-zone climate airconditioning. The price is $35,720 for the all-wheel drive automatic diesel, though you can save $3000 by getting the petrol engine or trimming back the features and opting for the front-wheel drive petrol auto at $28,720.It's been on the market for more than a year yet still looks fresh. That's good for seekers of a used Sportage but also helps resale for current owners. The key is a distinctive design that works as well outside as it does inside.The cabin is spacious enough for five adults yet has commendable cargo room of 740 litres (seats up) and 1547 litres (seats down). Mazda's CX-5 is 403 litres and 1560 litres respectively.Kia's dash overdoes the colour black but is actually attractive, has good storage spaces and clear instruments.Part of the appeal of the Sportage is its simplicity. The 135kW/392Nm 2-litre turbo-diesel packs enough punch to be lively and is helped by the six-speed auto. Kia claims a 7.5 L/100km average which typifies its class and engine - until the CX-5 came along with its outstanding 5.7 L/100km. Australian input into the suspension and steering tuning results in an SUV that feels more like a sedan, so drives with confidence and sure-footedness even through quick corners.Sportage gets a five-star crash rating and six airbags. There's also standard stability, traction control, brake assist and a hill holder. The stability control is switchable and the AWD version adds hill descent. Good news for travellers is the full-size spare wheel.The Sportage immediate relays a sense of stability and that despite the light feel of its electric-assist steering, has a comfortable blend of positive response to a corner and ease of use when parking.Despite its SUV proportions, it doesn't suffer critically from body roll and even borders on being a fun machine to drive.The diesel is a bit clattery at idle but pulls with surprising strength on acceleration. There is some hesitation on acceleration as the engine and gearbox engage. But the package repays with good fuel economy, especially on country trips.I appreciated the seat comfort and the electric lumbar support, the visibility which was good to all but the rear three-quarter section, and the location of switchgear. Kia has obviously done a lot of work in the cabin and the result is a car that is intuitive.It ticks all the boxes for accommodation, fuel economy and ease of driving and, to top it off, has a style that is distinctive. 

And it will be here within four years. BMW says its open-top version of the i8 plug-in hybrid coupe - the Concept Spyder - is going into production and should be on the market 18-24 months after the 2014 launch of its coupe sister.But the high-tech, drop-top version won't be cheap. BMW Australia spokesman Piers Scott says the company won't take the i8 convertible up to fight among Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz. ``It'll be more a competitor to cars such as the Audi R8,'' he says.That puts a tag of about $280,000 for the coupe and $300,000 for the Spyder. Like the coupe, the i8 Spyder uses a three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and an electric motor.The combined 260kW can drive two or four wheels, depending on driving conditions, and gives a 0-100km/h sprint of five seconds.The i8 uses a separate drivetrain platform made of aluminium, and a body made of carbon-fibre composites.It allows different bodies to be fitted to a common platform but, despite that, BMW says the Spyder has a slightly shorter wheelbase.BMW's product manager for electric vehicles, Heinrich Schwackhofer, said to Carsguide at the recent Geneva motor show that the i8 is on the market in 2014.At that time he wouldn't comment on a convertible joining the i8 coupe though admits the car's separate drivetrain platform and the body could make it relatively easy to create new models.The same design applies to the smaller, more city-focused i3 that goes on sale next year. ``The i8 is not all about performance,'' Schwackhofer says. ``It's more about the package and the electric drive.''Now, however, it's also about looks. The most eye-catching feature of the Spyder is its upward-swivelling, windowless doors - a feature that may or may not make it to production. It has a neat spoiler lip on the windscreen frame to divert air over passengers' heads or, when the weather worsens, a two-section folding roof.The car uses the LifeDrive platform architecture with its front and rear axle modules connected by a tunnel that houses the lithium-ion battery. The 96kW electric motor on the front axle works in tandem with a turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine for 164 kW, but together total 260kW and a peak torque of 550Nm.BMW says the two-seater uses only 3.0 litres/100km - equivalent to fuel economy of 94mpg - in the European combined test cycle. The lithium-ion battery which can be fully charged from a domestic power socket in less than two hours and, when charged, the Spyder has a range of up to 30km.

The grandson of the company founder, also named Ferdinand, was also the designer of Porsche sports cars including the 904 which is regarded as the world's most beautiful race car. Porsche left the family business in 1972 when it became a public company and started Porsche Design. This design studio created numerous classic gentlemen's accessories such as watches, spectacles and writing implements that achieved global recognition. It also designed industrial products, household appliances and consumer durables for international clients. Ferdinand Porsche retained a close lifelong association with the car company Porsche AG as a partner and member of the Supervisory Board. Even after stepping down from front-line business operations, he contributed to the design of Porsche's sports cars over many decades. In 2005, he stood down from his Supervisory Board role in favour of his son Oliver and assumed the mantle of Honorary President of the Supervisory Board. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche will be buried in the family grave at Schuttgut in Zell am See, attended by his immediate family. An official funeral service will be held in Stuttgart at a later date.

It's an unprecedented roller coaster genre that is brushing off economic downturns, rising fuel prices and threats of high interest rates. But be aware what you're buying because the question here isn't about the genre's popularity, but the definition of an SUV.  For more than buying a socially acceptable, family focused, versatile and - in some cases - even chic compliment to a suburban concrete driveway that wears a trendy acronym, we're buying station wagons.  My father had a station wagon as did many of my friends in the 1970s and 1980s. The only way they became trendy was to occy-strap a surfboard to the roof. Or hang it out the retracted tailgate window.  But they're not trendy anymore and that's why manufacturers have decided to market them as SUVs. It's been 40 years since Subaru's L-Series wagon powered all four wheels onto the Australian market, arguably the first snowball in what has become an SUV avalanche. That was a station wagon. Today, its replacement is the Forester which is an SUV. Roy Morgan communications director Norman Morris, in analysing one of his company's recent reports on new-car buyer intentions, notes that sales of SUVs is continuing to strengthen at the expense of the medium-sized, large car and sports car segments. "SUVs are seen as flexible and versatile rivals to traditional sedans,'' Mr Morris said. "Plus, there's so many models for the buyer to choose. "In relative terms, cars are now very cheap. As long as this continues, and interest rates remain low, we see new cars as being a very popular choice over the next four years at least.''  In the three months to April 1, SUV sales as a whole rose 23.4 per cent as the Australian passenger-car segment barely moved with a rise of 0.4 per cent. Little wonder that most carmakers have an entrant in the SUV arena and, showing that the craze is unlikely to dim, even Lamborghini and Bentley have announced they will make an SUV.  Many SUV's have two-wheel drive, so destroying whatever off-road potential the bodyshape may indicate. More proof that if you own an SUV, you're really just like your father (or grandfather) when it comes to vehicle choice is the fact that car makers have used SUVs to replace their station wagon lineup. Ford now has the Territory and has axed its Falcon wagon; Toyota's Camry wagon has been replaced with the Kluger and RAV4; Mitsubishi's Magna wagon is now the Outlander and so on. Cleverly, car makers find that people want all the macho, adventurous romance that are promised by the physical presence - and big wheels - of an SUV, without any of the costs. Buyers want to sit up high so see over all the other traffic, and it's only after leaving the showroom that they become aware that almost 50 per cent of the other traffic is the same height. The more recent crop of SUVs have become a bit lower to the ground as buyers complain about the previous high-risers having an uncomfortable bodyroll through corners. Engines have become smaller to combat high fuel use.  The result is the small-SUV segment that rocketed 48 per cent this year compared with the same three-month period in 2011. It was bolstered by newcomers such as the Skoda Yeti, Mazda CX-5, Jeep Compass and Subaru XV. It was good news in the medium-SUV sector which rose 20.3 per cent with 25,895 sales in the three months to April 1, pushed by Mazda's outgoing CX-7 sell-off and incoming CX-5.  There was also renewed interest in the Holden Captiva 5 (up 190.4 per cent), Kia Sportage (up 49.2%), Land Rover Defender (up 118.8%), Nissan X-Trail (up 66.8%), Mitsubishi ASX (up 57.8%) and the CX-5 which has sold 1509 units in a bit over four weeks.  Mazda predicts that its new CX-5 - which is says should settle at about 1000 sales a month - will divide buyers with its front-wheel drive models grabbing 35 per cent of the share and all-wheel drive models taking the balance of 65 per cent.  Mazda's project engineer for the CX-5 SUV - and before that, the bigger CX-9 wagon - says SUVs are here to stay. "There may be a change to a cross-over style that isn't so high, but SUVs are here for a long while yet,'' Hideaki Tanaka said.  

The tale of Subaru Impreza is like ugly duckling meets groundhog day.Repeatedly, it's styling has swung from pretty to pretty awful, drop dead gorgeous to drop kick.Honestly, Subaru has got it right this time - really right - and now I'm scared that the next model is going to look like a chewed suitcase. So a message to Subaru - just don't play with it.The sedan is now a balanced car in terms of style, has a neat nose and an interior - and particularly the dash - that is almost perfect, has soft-feel materials, is streets ahead of most rivals and belies the car's sub-$24,000 entry price.Even the engine is better, performance is good and fuel economy is back among the pack after previously having a reputation of being something of a lush.VALUEReally good. It's only when you stack the Impreza 2.0i up against similarly-priced rivals - Mazda3, Holden Cruze and Toyota Corolla - that you see it equals them on most things, wins on some but gives very little ground away. The fact it's all-wheel drive, now has a spacious interior and boot, has loads of features - Bluetooth, six speaker iPod/USB audio, cruise and a trip computer - for the price makes it close to a bargain. Not much point in up-speccing here because the lower priced Impreza models have it all.DESIGNAfter two - and more - years, finally a shape that looks good in your driveway. Impreza takes the good bits of big-sister Liberty but discards the slab-side look in favour of deep side glass, crease lines through the doors and eyebrows raised over the wheelarches.As mentioned, the soft-feel dash is light-years away from the previous Impreza's hard-plastic, satin-black finish that, at best, cheapened the car. The boot is big - again - and though there's a space-saver wheel, there's room for a real one. So why isn't there a real one there?TECHNOLOGYThe 2-litre engine appears to be the same but is a long-stroke version as Subaru aims to lift low-speed torque and reduce fuel consumption - both long-standing sticking points with its flat-four mill. With a modest 110kW/196Nm it works and is now on par with rivals. Fuel consumption is a claimed 6.8 L/100km which thrashes most rivals (see comparison box).The four-speed auto has gone in favour of a CVT auto - effectively a gearbox without gears so it's smooth and fuel efficient - which is great but needs a tweak, while the all-wheel drive remains the Impreza's core advantage.SAFETYNo surprises that this is a five-star car when crashed. It gets seven airbags. all the electronic brake aids, has all-wheel drive for extra safety but that space-saver spare shouldn't be there.DRIVINGA manual gearbox would show up the difference more but there's definitely more grunt of the mark than before. That makes driving the new Impreza a lot easier. The CVT auto has a great improvement on the previous wide-spaced four-cog auto. But it can sometimes ``hunt'' while cruising and show some initial hesitation when accelerating. It needs a bit of tweaking but in the overall scheme, still works well.One major change is the stance of the Impreza. It feels far more confident on the road, corners with more accuracy than before and the ride comfort - thanks in part to very comfortable seats - is excellent. It drives like a more expensive car and the engine - while a few more kiloWatts wouldn't hurt - is more than adequate for its target market.VERDICTIt's now amongst a (very small) handful of base model, small sedan cars that I'd consider buying. I actually disliked returning it to Subaru.