Articles by Paul Gover

The race to build the world's costliest and most outrageous SUV just shifted into high gear.

The best thing about the Skoda Octavia is the boot. It's a truly enormous rear, yet it hides inside a car that looks just like an everyday four-door sedan and nothing remotely like a cavernous hatchback. The only giveaway is the wiper on the rear window. The boot, with a capacity well over 500L without even bothering

The top dog in the Porsche pack is about to be taken down a peg.The Cayenne has ruled on the sales charts since it first arrived — even saving the 911 and Porsche's other sports cars from potential extinction — but is about to be overtaken by the Macan.That's not to say Porsche is going soft on the Cayenne as it continues to do good things at the top end with the GTS.Now comes an updated Cayenne Diesel.There is nothing really new to see, although the CarsGuide test example has a nice sunroof and show-off Porsche logos embroidered on the seats (at a cost of $490). However, the 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel is significantly changed.Most importantly, it now complies with the latest Euro6 emission standard and that's a big deal for a diesel. One other major car maker, let's call it Mercedes-Benz, once predicted that the tougher new European emission standard would mean the end of diesels.But Porsche has cleared the bar, increasing outputs (by 13kW and 30Nm) while reducing the 0-100km/h sprint time by 0.3 seconds and making a 5 per cent improvement in fuel economy.The Cayenne is big and heavy but justifies the Porsche badgeThe feel in the latest Cayenne is a little sharper than I remember, especially if I take manual control of the transmission via the lever or the paddle-shifters.There is no chance to check the fuel economy, but I have no reason to complain.The Cayenne is big and heavy but justifies the Porsche badge with great brakes, good cornering balance and lots of driving feedback.It's classy in the cabin and the latest steering wheel looks and feels great (although I would never pay for embroidered badges or, honestly, a sunroof).This car is sharp and responsiveMy most recent spell in the Cayenne completely erases the nasty memories of my first time with a Porsche SUV.The first-generation Cayenne had really lousy assembly quality and wobbled around so much that I wanted to turn back to the dealership after 10 minutes.This car is sharp and responsive, with truly great headlamps and punchy audio. I'm not a fan of the electric handbrake, which is counterintuitive to operate and does not have the "auto off" function of many cheaper cars.What else is not to like? Well, I wonder how many people are buying the diesel Cayenne for the engine, when it's really about the starting price. My personal favourite is the GTS, although it adds a $50,000 slug to the bottom line, because it is beautifully equipped and great to drive.I also wonder about the car's safety rating, though if ANCAP had the cash and commitment to crash it, almost certainly it would earn five stars.

If you don't follow orders at Ford Australia, you can pay a high price.

There were five serious shoppers who were considering the $1.5 million hybrid hypercar, but each of them balked at paying more than $300,000 in Luxury Car Tax.Porsche had planned a special support package for any 918 sold in Australia, including spare parts and tyres, trackside maintenance and special driving tuition, to try and lock down at least one local delivery despite a left-hand drive layout which makes it illegal for road-car use.But the deadline has now passed, with all 918 cars in the limited Spyder production run already committed to their owners.“What successful businessman is going to give the tax man that much money, just in Luxury Car Tax?,” says Paul Ellis, spokesman for Porsche Cars Australia.“It’s preposterous that a car that cannot be registered on Australian roads is still subject to this punitive tax.It’s preposterous that a car that cannot be registered on Australian roads is still subject to this punitive tax.“Potential buyers of the 918 work too hard to be handing over that much money to the tax man.”The money numbers are as outrageous on the 918 as the car’s performance figures, but it’s a similar story on LCT across the whole Porsche family, from the starting-price Macan at $86,700 to the 911 Turbo S from $466,900.“Every car we sell in Australia is subject to LCT. It applies to everything over $70,000,” says Ellis.The Porsche experience is one reason why car importers are pushing strongly for an end to the LCT, which was originally excused by Canberra as a way to protect the flagships of the local carmakers, once Ford and Holden shut their factories.The long-wheelbase Ford Fairlane and LTD are already long dead and Holden only has its $59,490 Caprice after killing its slow selling Statesman.The LCT currently tips $476 million into the coffers in Canberra but, ironically, the biggest individual contributors are the four-wheel drive Toyota LandCruiser models. 

Mark Webber is a magician in a Porsche 918.Me? I'm rubbish.When Webber took me for hot laps at Albert Park during the Australian Grand Prix he dug deep into the incredible power and grip and technology of the $1.5 million Porsche hybrid hero, cranking up to 260km/h down the pit straight and hustling it through the corners at speeds to make a V8 Supercars driver worried.I will never forget the first uppercut of 650 kiloWatts as we came out of the Albert Park pitlane, or the moment when we went off-course at the high-speed flip-flop when Webber mis-judged his braking because he felt like he was back in his Red Bull F1 car. For a second I thought I was heading for hospital.But when I get to Phillip Island, and slide from the passenger seat across to the action station, things are very different.It makes an everyday driver look like a superstarThe car is the same one, and still brutally fast in a way that's hard to explain beyond a 0-100km/h time of 2.6 seconds and a top speed of 345km/h, but I cannot believe how easy it is to drive.It makes an everyday driver look like a superstar, and I find it easy to romp to 250 on the pit straight and corner at speeds that make a Porsche 911 GT3 look pedestrian. I have the controls, but it's the 918 that has the control.It's an absolutely brilliant car that currently sits at the top of world motoring alongside the McLaren F1 and Ferrari LaFerrari. All three are hybrids, but instead of using their electric motors to green the world they are fitted to give the effect of a battery-boosted supercharger.In the case of the 918, there are three electric motors which integrate seamlessly into an all-wheel drive package an a seven-speed PDK manu-matic gearbox with paddle-shifters and one of the most intuitive automatic systems I've struck in any car. It is far better at redline upshifts when the V8 petrol engine spins to 9000 revs and makes brilliant downshifts for hot laps.Yet the 918 will also run for 31 kilometres on pure electric power, while retaining a 6.2-second sprint time and a top speed of 150km/h.The car is only built in left-hand drive and it costs $1.5 millionThere is a lot to like about the ultimate Porsche, and some things to love, but it's not all good news.The car is only built in left-hand drive and it costs $1.5 million. It's also noisy, pretty cramped in the cabin, and takes some learning with all the electronic complications.I've only got three driving laps at Phillip Island, but Porsche is preparing me well with track time in both a 911 Turbo and GT3 ahead of the ultimate roller-coaster ride. Both cars feel lovely and fast, with the GT3 a fair bit sharper around a track with an average speed that tops 150km/h.But the 918 Spyder is something else again, which is why Matthias Hoffsuemmer - chief driving instructor on the car, with more than 40,000 kilometres of seat time - has taken over from Webber as the lead driver. He has flown from Germany to demonstrate the car, but also to ride shotgun to ensure there are no mishaps.He starts gently, showing how the car performs in full electric mode, before uncorking some of the performance I know from the Webber laps at Albert Park.The 918 is other-worldlySo I'm ready, but should perhaps give some extra background. After all, I've previously driven a wide range of supercars, from a Bugatti Veyron to a Lamborghini Aventador, and I've tackled both a Nissan GT-R and a Black Series version of the Mercedes-AMG SLS Gullwing around Phillip Island.But none of them are as whack-me-back as the 918. Or as impressive under brakes. Or capable of building such incredibly high speeds in such a short time and distance.The 918 is other-worldly. It's so, so, so fast and yet so easy to drive. Goodness knows what would happen if you strapped on slick racing tyres...To keep me properly in check, Porsche has provided a pace car for my hot laps. It's not just any car but a Carrera Cup racer, with champion driver Craig Baird driving.It's quickly clear that the 918 is faster than the Cup car in lots of conditions, as I'm able to outbrake Baird and pull alongside as we accelerate down the straight. And he's in a full race car.To be honest, I'm struggling to keep pace with the Porsche. It's so darned fast that I'm wrung out after three laps, trying to keep my eyes down the road and my reflexes tuned to the speed.Then I slow, and realise the 918 can also go slow. It's not nearly as much fun, but as my heart rate slows to something more normal I can appreciate the quality of the cabin, and the brilliant dials, and the comfort in the race-style seat, and the incredible visibility.To finish the day, I get a hot lap alongside Hoffsuemmer. If anything, the car feels quicker than it did with Webber, because I can relax and watch instead of hanging on and screaming inside.To prove the car's pace, he uncorks a lap in 1 minute 38.02 seconds. For clarity, the Porsche is on road tyres and the track is hot, and the V8 Supercar lap record belongs to six-time champion Jamie Whincup at 1:32.02.Then it's over. And I'm done.The 918 Spyder is a 21st century speed machineBut I cannot resist hitting the re-wind button and comparing it with the Porsche Carrera GT, the Germany company's previous supercar. I also drove it at Phillip Island, ten years ago.The GT was a fast, flighty, nervy car with a hair-trigger clutch and a temperamental engine. I never felt I got remotely close to exploiting its strengths, despite the speed.In sharp contrast, the 918 Spyder - did I mention the lift-out carbon roof panels, the active aerodynamics with a giant rear wing, or the top-exit exhaust pipes? - is much quicker but much, much easier to drive. And far more rewarding.There is a decade between the cars but, really, it feels like a century.

A vote by 75 motoring journalists from 22 countries has awarded the compact prestige car the World Car of the Year award for 2015.It finished on top of a 24-car field and eventually beat the two other finalists, the Ford Mustang and Volkswagen Passat.The other big prizes for 2015, Green Car of the Year and Performance Car of the Year, went to the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 and the Mercedes-AMG GT coupe.The winners were announced at the New York Motor Show today at an event hosted by Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum at the culmination of a six-month voting process.The C-Class delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.The awards are in their 11th year and previous winners include the Audi A6, BMW 3 Series, Lexus LS460 and Volkswagen Golf, Polo and Up.To be eligible for the overall World Car award, candidate cars must have become available for sale on at least two continents between January 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015.The WCOTY wins by Mercedes-Benz follow its victories in the Green Car contest in 2007 with the E320 Bluetec and 2012 with the S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY and its Luxury Car success with the S Class in 2014.“We are extremely delighted of winning the honour of World Car of the Year,” says the chairman of Daimler, Dr Dieter Zetsche.The WCOTY victory follows a similar success for the C-Class in the CarsGuide Car of the Year award.The WCOTY judging panel says: “Taking its design and technological cues from the S-Class, the C-Class employs an all-new aluminium/steel hybrid platform and updated rear-drive powertrains that delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.” WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2015Overall winner: Mercedes-Benz C-ClassGreen Car: BMW i8Performance Car: Mercedes-AMG GTLuxury Car: Mercedes-Benz S CoupeDesign: Citroen CactusPREVIOUS WORLD COTY WINNERS:2014: Audi A32013: Volkswagen Golf2012: Volkswagen Up2011: Nissan Leaf2010: Volkswagen Polo2009: Volkswagen Golf2008: Mazda22007: Lexus LS4602006: BMW 3 Series2005: Audi A6

Paul Gover road tests and reviews the Hyundai Sonata with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Just as a pay rise can push you up in the tax brackets, so the arrival of a new model often means an unseen slide into a new size.But the greed, in this case, is all on the buyer’s side.Lots of people tell me how much cars have grownWe have become very spoiled over the past 15 years, as prices have barely moved while value has risen, so that even $13,000 cheapies now come with electric windows, aircon, power steering and audio, which once only joined the standard equipment list beyond $30,000.But how about the size?Lots of people tell me how much cars have grown, as they shop for something like a Corolla and find the 2015 model is more like an older Camry in the cabin. I got extra proof this week when I parked a new Honda HR-V a couple of times.First up, it was alongside an original CR-V. Then behind an early-model Toyota RAV4.Both times the HR-V looked to be the same size, give or take a couple of centimetres, yet it’s the baby brother of the CR-V and marks the return of a model that was a tiddler when it first sold in Australia. It’s about 30 centimetres shorter than the first CR-V.Then I parked the HR-V alongside a current-generation CR-V. It is smaller, a little more youthful, and more obviously aimed at young singles than the families who are buying a new CR-V.But anyone who thinks the new generation of baby SUVs are tiny tots is wrong.

Actually, it's probably more than that figure as no one at Ferrari will give exact numbers for the queue to drive the red-hot successor to the 458 Italia. Or the price."The waiting list is probably around a year-and-a-half. And those orders came within the first two weeks of the photographs of the car being released," says Ferrari Australia boss Herbert Appleroth."We're not expecting deliveries to commence until right at the end of the year. So we're talking into 2017."We have not seen this level of interest since 2007The success of the F488 is good news for Ferrari and its fans as well as a pointer to the health of Australia's economy.Top-end brands all report big buyer interest and there are waiting lists for popular models from the likes of Lamborghini, Porsche and Mercedes-AMG."We have not seen this level of interest since 2007, before the global financial crisis," says Appleroth. "We can safely assume the supercar market is back to its previous glory. Well, it is for Ferrari." The financial upswing has also triggered a change in colour choices. Rosso Corsa, or Ferrari red, is back on top with a clear preference for the 488 among buyers."In Australia, red was less important from 2008 until now. That's because people wanted to play conservative. After the GFC they still wanted to live their dream, but not flaunt it.The 458 is $525,000, with most owners splashing at least another $100,000 on bling"But there is very strong demand for red again. This could be our clients being more confident things are going well."They will definitely be doing well to afford a 488. The 458 is $525,000, with most owners splashing at least another $100,000 on bling, and that will increase with the new model."Globally, the price of the car is 2.5 per cent more than the 458 Italia," says Appleroth. So the bottom line is going to rise by more than $13,000, without thinking about options and on-road costs.