Articles by Paul Gover

The Mazda CX-3 is in but the Honda HR-V and Renault Captur are out.The Audi TT is in but the Holden Cascada is out.That's my assessment of the field so far as we search for the best new car of 2015.Good is still good, but it's not good enough when the biggest prize in Australian motoring is on the line.Even a car as initially impressive as the Land Rover Discovery Sport is marked down heavily on value when you consider it as a CarsGuide Car of the Year contender.It's the same for the Ford Mondeo, which looks good, is packed to the hilt with technology but has lost its mojo on the open road.Similarly the Ford Focus ST, which is a great drive, is too narrow in its appeal.The CarsGuide team has already driven more than two dozen good cars in the opening half of the year and it's time to see what's looking good for a spot for the top-10 run-off in December.There are some surprising failures and the line-up could change dramatically with a rush of impressive newcomers booked for the second half but this is how the COTY 2015 contenders are shaping up.The new German coupe is everything the TT always could — and should — have been.It's had a muscle-car makeover that covers a broad spectrum from the sharper body shape to the driving dynamics and cabin space.All right, it should have a standard rear-vew camera, but that omission is offset by gains in other areas that count for a performance car.And the interior, with its integrated display screen in front of the steering wheel, is top-notch.This one is a slow burn because it's not like previous BMWs.For a start, it has front-wheel drive. And it puts family first.It's more like the i3 electric car than a 3 Series which is a good thing for people who put comfort and space and quality ahead of the Ultimate Driving Machine.It might be a clunky in the front suspension but it's classier than we expected and the flexible cabin, which will later include a third row of seats, is up there with the best.Cars as good as the Sorento should allow Kia to make the final breakthrough in Australia.Look beyond the country's longest warranty and you find a family seven-seater that's good-looking, practical and nice to drive.It could do with more steering feel but that's a very minor thing for people who need a seven-seater.Inside, the cheap and cheerful Kias of a decade ago are a distant memory, replaced by quality finishes, soft surfaces and great attention to detail.The best of the new-age mini SUVs wins a spot by trumping rivals including the HR-V and Captur, something it achieves with quality, refinement and a class-leading starting price.It's never going to star for a family with such a small boot but it's developed from the Mazda2 that starred in last year's COTY run-off.It looks good, drives well and works for twentysomethings who crave an SUV, delivering the elevated seating position without being too bulky.The new family sedan is a welcome return to form for a company that went backwards during the global financial crisis.Honda and Mitsubishi are still recovering but Subaru is back to what it does best with a quiet, comfortable, refined and well-priced car for Australian families. It also maintains Subaru's impressive reputation for cutting-edge safety.As always, it comes with all-wheel drive and provides the platform for the equally impressive Outback.The back end of 2015 will bring a number of impressive newcomers, from the baby Skoda Fabia through to the muscular Ford Mustang, bigger Hyundai Tucson and youthful Jeep Renegade.For now, the best of the bunch looks like this:This car could be as impressive, in its own SUV style, as the Volkswagen Golf Mk7. It's first with the mechanical package that will go under several VW Group arrivals, including the next Porsche Cayenne and Bentley Bentayga. So we're expecting class leading comfort, quality and a great family drive.If the born-again Mustang is half as good as the hype it will be a serious COTY contender. Early drives in the US point to best-yet dynamics for the first 'Stang with factory right-hand drive. There is even a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine. More than 2000 Australians are paid-up and waiting for their car to arrive, sometime in November.This one needs to be more than good to challenge the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class. But Jaguar learned bitter lessons from its X-Type, which was no more than a re-bodied Ford Mondeo, and is pushing hard with an XE that gets everything from an aluminium backbone to new-age engines. In Australia, the key will be in the pricing and equipment.The world's favourite sports car is odds-on for a COTY spot. It's been completely reworked for 2015 despite a body that could only be an MX-5. It's promising a much-needed improvement in cabin space and overall refinement, as well as Skyactiv engine technology that already works in Mazda's mainstream models. Add the lightweight body and sharp pricing. There is already a queue for early deliveries.The all-new Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara for 2015 are good but not great, which leaves the Ranger to challenge the all-new Toyota HiLux for the benchmark in utes. This midlife update is more than just a mild makeover. It has new panels, tweaked driving dynamics and on the flagship model it has technology that would make a German SUV blush.More than just a truck, the HiLux has been Australia's favourite ute for more than a generation, not just because it scores with miners but because it can be most things to most people. The new HiLux promises everything from a new turbo diesel to car-like quality and refinement.It's been a very long time since the first XC90, which has given Volvo — after its change from a Ford subsidiary to Chinese ownership — plenty of time to develop a benchmark upscale SUV. Extensive work on everything from cabin comfort and quality to best-in-class safety technology — wrapped in a good-looking new bodywork — should make the XC90 something special and a '15 standout.Alfa Romeo 4C - The Italian version of a Lotus Elise is a looker and a goer, but too costly.Ford Mondeo - Not as good as the previous car, although cabin space is excellent.Holden Cascada - Most impressive of the new Euro Holdens, good but not great.Hyundai Sonata - Not up to the standard of Hyundai's other newcomers, although value is good.Renault Captur - Funky bodywork makes big promises but the undersized engine cannot deliver.Toyota Camry - A top car by any measure but not enough change for a COTY run.

Two smaller new models, an SUV and a quick coupe, are racing to join the Bentley family.

They would have learned everything they need to know at the world's most successful new car show, the Goodwood Festival of Speed.Goodwood has been running for many years, but more recently it's morphed from a garden party at the stately home of the Earl of March into a genuine motor show which draws every major maker in the UK - and beyond.So what began as a chance for the owners of historic racing cars to exercise their old-timers is now a major event that draws more than 200,000 people each June on the same weekend as the Glastonbury music festival.Some fantastic retired racers still sprint up the Earl's driveway but it's the modern stuff which is drawing the big crowds and the big brands.Goodwood is an event and a destination, proving that cars are still more than just appliances for a lot of peopleMercedes-Benz uses the weekend to unveil its facelifted A45 AMG and new C63 S, Aston Martin rips the covers off its $2.5 million Vulcan and launches it up the hill, and Peugeot shows its 308 GTI for the first time. Mazda, which is the star brand at the show and has its Le Mans winning rotary 787B doing noisy demonstration runs, has its all-new MX-5 in action.There is also a moving motor show where ordinary fans can take a passenger ride and a supercar cavalcade including all of the world's most desirable cars, right up to the 400km/h Ferrari FXX K.And that's the real key to the Festival of Speed. The cars move and there is lots of interactivity for visitors, from off-road driving events to racing car simulators and even kiddie slides.Did I mention Ken 'Gymkhana' Block in the outrageous Ford Mustang that starred in his most-recent internet video hit?Old-school motor shows are just giant showrooms, but Goodwood is an event and a destination, proving that cars are still more than just appliances for a lot of people. If it can work in Britain then the same formula should be just as tasty in Australia.

Bentley has just confirmed a 3.5-tonne tow capacity for its upcoming Bentayga with a suitable towball load rating for the super-luxury SUV.It is also fitting a special rear-view camera and electrically operated tow hitch to make it easier to attach a back-end loading job to the $400,000-plus luxury truck."The tow capacity is 3.5 tonnes," the engineering director at Bentley, Rolf Frech, reveals to CarsGuide.Bentley will be taking the SUV to Iceland next year to drive up a glacier"I do not have the exact ball weighting, but it will be sufficient."Frech says development of the Bentayga has included all possible SUV requirements, including the 'Big Red' sand dune in the Dubai desert and luxury towing."Bentley has to be authentic. Do we assume our customers will go there? Of course not. But the success story of SUVs around the world also has to do with the escape potential."Bentley's CEO, Wolfgang Durheimer, confirms the Bentayga can conquer 'Big Red', but says his objective was the much tougher downwind side of the dune than the sloping upwind edge tackled by most four-wheel drives. And he reveals Bentley will be taking the SUV to Iceland next year to drive up a glacier.On the towing capacity, the two men say the Bentayga can handle anything and the luxury approach means a hands-off hitch. Instead of lifting or winching, the driver uses the rear-view camera to line up the towball with the hitch and then presses a button to make the connection."We also have an air spring to help with connecting the tow hitch," Frech says.

Plans for a one-make series to rival or surpass the Ferrari 458 Challenge are well under way at Bentley's home in Crewe, the company's chief reveals to CarsGuide."For the future we are at present evaluating the potential of a luxury one-make cup, and this could take place on four continents, for about 25 entries," Wolfgang Durheimer, CEO of Bentley, says at the Goodwood Festival of Speed."We organise everything. We do everything. They have high-performance racing with high-performance cars."We want to be the number oneDurheimer says the Bentley racers would be positioned midway between the company's road-going Continental and the GT3 racing version of the same car, which challenged for victory in this year's Bathurst 12-Hour race and is returning to Mount Panorama in 2016.He says air-conditioning will be essential in the cars, since he expects the series will attract well-funded 'gentleman' drivers without the skill or fitness of full-time professionals.But he is keen on the championship and what it can bring to Bentley buyers who want more than just a road car."Once you are signed in you have luxury track time in a high-performance car. I hope that we come to a good conclusion."Durheimer also confirms for the first time that the Continental GT3 program will continue beyond the original three-year commitment, which has now seen 19 cars built for racing."Don't assume we stop next year. Racing is part of our DNA. We are already evaluating the potential of the next car," he says."Emotionally, it can drive our company to new horizons. Internally, it helps us to work in a very discipled way and to be competitive and win."We want to be the number one and we intend to be the winner in the luxury performance game. We like to do the extraordinary things, not what everybody does."

It will be made in Italy, have a rear-wheel drive chassis, and be designed by skunks.Alfa is going back to its roots as driver's cars with the first two essentials, while the third is a tongue-in-cheek reference by chief designer Lorenzo Ramaciotti to the type of people in his department.Alfa created a special engineering and development 'skunk works' during the development program for its make-or-break Giulia sedan, which was created from scratch in only two years.We designers are all skunksThe outfit - which took its name from the top-secret Lockheed-Martin group that worked on a variety of aerospace programs from the 1940s in the USA - was staffed by experts who could think outside the circle on car development.But Ramaciotti says there was no need to conscript special skunks for design work on the Giulia."We designers are all skunks," he tells CarsGuide in Milan as he shows us over the Giulia."We are all car enthusiasts with a lot of passion. So, for us, being skunks is the key word for our work."He points out everything from the super-tight packaging of the Giulia's headlights to the number plate on the boot instead of the rear bumper, the first Alfa in more than 20 years with the plate in this position to cut 60 millimetres from the car's overall length."Designing a car is a very complex activity. You cannot believe how many constraints and trade-offs you have to come through. There are so many demands from different areas."He believes the Giulia is different enough to make an impact against heavy hitting rivals such as the BMW 3 Series and C-Class Mercedes-Benz, even though details of the cabin work are still secret."Alfa has the history and the charisma to avoid this. We don't have to change our DNA just to follow the trend of some newcomers to the market."But he confirms essential work on two new SUVs from Alfa Romeo as part of the eight-car model lineup for 2018 and the brand's full-scale return to the USA.We will have space for our fantasy"We don't call them SUV because we have Jeep in the range. We think of them more of crossover vehicles because we are more on the sports side," Ramaciotti says."You can make a good compromise between the stance and practicality of the crossover vehicle and the dynamic shape of a sports vehicle. I think the Porsche Macan is a very nice looking sports SUV."

Paul Gover road tests and reviews the Ferrari California T with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Paul Gover road tests and reviews the BMW 225i Active Tourer with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

The top selling cars of Audi, BMW and Mercedes are described as "cold, technological, boring products with zero emotion" in Italy today by the man who is leading the - latest - rebirth of the historic Italian brand."Premium cars today are cells designed to separate you from the world and the road. Premiumness has become another product. A sea of indifference," says Harald Wester, CEO of Alfa Romeo. The Giulia flagship has a twin-turbo V6 engine and rear or all-wheel drive"The new Alfa Romeos put the driver back at the centre. It's never just a machine. It must be an extension of a driver's soul."The Giulia looks good and has impressive numbers, headlining an $8 billion investment program that will create eight all-new products with the objective of lifting global sales from less than 68,000 in 2014 to more than 400,000 by 2018.There is little fine detail beyond a preview of the Giulia flagship, which has a twin-turbo V6 engine and rear or all-wheel drive to tackle the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 performance sedans.But the Giulia is totally upstaged at its unveiling at the Arese headquarters of Alfa Romeo by a true Italian icon, opera singer Andrea Bocelli.The blind superstar gets a standing ovation as he performs Nessun Dorma from Turandot while the Giulia is driven on stage behind him, but he shows his own feeling about cars in one sentence."I used to listen every day for the sound of my father's car coming home," he tells an audience of more than 500 hardened motoring commentators.Right-hand drive cars will not be ready for Australia until the third quarter of 2016He is followed by the man who provided the drive and the cash for the Alfa comeback plan, Fiat Chrysler Automobile boss Sergio Marchionne."It's no mystery that Alfa is one of the projects that I have been most involved in. It's been crying out for revenge. Giving voice to the real Alfa Romeo was a moral imperative," Marchionne says.Trial production of the Giulia has already begun but right-hand drive cars will not be ready for Australia until the third quarter of 2016 and there is no confirmation yet of any models below the QV flagship.The Giulia was created from scratch in only two years, using a 'Skunkworks' program similar to the Lockheed-Martin jet fighter project in the USA in the 1940s. It's a four-door sedan that's promised to drive like a sports car, with benchmark quality for an Italian car, and even a new Alfa Romeo badge that's been updated for the 21st century."The brand is on the verge of re-taking its rightful position in the market. It will once again be one of the leading symbols of Italian engineering and style," says Marchionne.

History is about to roll over the top of the dimmer switch.