Articles by Paul Gover

All the numbers say the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT is a Ferrari in a Hugo Boss suit, with a 0-100km/h sprint time closing in on four seconds and a top speed beyond 320km/h. And those gull-wing doors ... But when the very same SLS gull-wing is pacing the field for the Australian Grand Prix it looks big, bulky and surprisingly slow. That's no surprise when it is more than twice the weight of a grand prix car and packed with the sort of built-in luxury that comes standard in any Benz. But some things cannot change, which is why the SLS does such a good job as the official Safety Car. It's fast but not fragile, tough but not intimidating, big and bold enough to stand out from the F1 crowd, and has a thumping V8 note that fits right in at the top of world motorsport. Handling the SLS for its fifth year in F1 is German touring car racer Bernd Maylander, who has piloted the Safety Car for 14 seasons. Maylander tunes up on the Thursday before each GP with a private practice session that looks like a qualifying run by a V8 Supercar. He has to be fast and controlled for Sunday afternoon, able to hustle without hassle in any situation and any weather conditions. It's a similar story for Benz, which began its Safety Car run in 1996 with a C 36, the first in a long run of AMG beasties. Then there are the AMG-tweaked first-response wagons used to carry the medical crew. Maylander's SLS is packed with safety-first technology, including banks of cameras and radios, but the only visual clues to its stealthy role are the light bar on the roof and the extra LED globes in the standard lamp sockets. As Carsguide rides with Maylander at Albert Park, he makes hot laps in AMG's belter look refined and easy. He is on the pace but always stays ahead of the game, as you'd expect from a Safety Car driver. "It's a good feeling to stay ahead of them, to be in front of the leading Formula One car," Maylander says. This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover  

my mount is the Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Edition 507. It’s the last of the current C Series master-blasters and the last to run without turbocharging.

...and Hyundai has no intention of being left behind. It is working hard on an ix25 that should be ready later this year. Based on the next-gen i20, but slotted into an earlier production program than the updated small car, the ix25 is expected to be unveiled at the Beijing motor show in April.It will be built in China as the South Korean maker spreads its manufacturing footprint further around the world. Hyundai Australia says it knows nothing of the ix25 but that is likely to change. Fast. Especially once it goes public and its customers clamour for inclusion in one of the world’s fastest-growing car classes.The Subaru XV was the first of the super-small SUVs to hit and Australia and now we have the Ford EcoSport, as well as the coming Renault Captur and other planned contenders.Our Carparazzi pictures from winter testing shows an angular body for the ix25 but the youth focus is obvious in the car’s funky alloy wheels.There are also visual ties to the i20, including the tail-lights. There appears to be a rising beltline that will give some style to the slab sides, as well as useful boot space behind the rear seat.Hyundai’s plan for the ix25 also raises the prospect of a clone car from related brand Kia, which shares all the major model development work at the “blue team” but adds its "red team" twist to styling.The new Kia Soul shows how a compact shopping trolley SUV could easily fit into its line-up, provided the junior partner in the South Korean conglomerate is allowed to play with what could become a key model for Hyundai in the next few years.This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover 

The born-again event will also have a stronger family focus, will include everything from bicycles to classic cars, and is promised to deliver the sizzle that’s been missing as traditional motor shows have died in Australia.The multi-million dollar event is being born from the death of a joint venture that was intended to deliver a world-class Australian show that would alternate between Sydney and Melbourne. Falling attendances and a massive slump in car company support led to the cancellation of plans to continue with an old-school event.Now the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, which ran the Melbourne Motor Show for generations before its partnership with the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, is working flat-out on a revival for 2015.“We’re calling it a motoring festival. It will probably be in March 2015 and we’re looking at a range of venues including Sandown and the Showgrounds,” the executive director of the VACC, David Purchase, reveals to Carsguide.“We need to look at something for everybody. Consumers want more interactive shows and the manufacturers are looking for shorter events, in different venues, and they want them cheaper.”Purchase says the VACC has done extensive research and is using a sellout event in Britain, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, as one of its inspirations.“It needs to be everything on wheels, with something for every member of the family. It will be more broadly based, it will be much more interactive, it will be a combination of indoor-outdoor, and it will have a range of displays and exhibitions."It will have new cars, although we won’t have every brand, and we’ll have to get used to that. I expect that we will have some classic car displays, low-volume production cars, motorcycles, even bicycles.”Apart from the show element, Purchase says the event will be used for the announcement of Australia's Best Car Awards and the VACC’s automotive design awards.“We will have a fashion parade, children's activities, a black-tie Premier’s dinner. It’s a trial in the sense that we’ve never done it before, but the traditional 10-day static motor show has had its day and this may be the future.”This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover 

The XC90 is being readied for sales this year, although it will not reach Australia until 2015, at the same time as Volvo is completing its design-driven work this week with the Concept Estate at the Geneva motor show.The good looking Estate follows the earlier Concept Coupe and Concept XC and Volvo says the design work will be reflected in a new generation of products.They have been funded from China, where Geely is Volvo’s new parent, but everything about them is Swedish.“This business is about product. It’s also about market investments to lay the groundwork for the new products,” the international vice-president of Volvo Car Corporation, Thomas Andersson, tells Carsguide.“Our owner is very long-term and that, in combination with the new structure, allows us to grow.“The first car out is going to be the new XC90. It’s coming … But you won’t see cars in the Australian market in 2014. You will have to wait until 2015.”Andersson admits that Volvo withered and battled during the time when it was part of the Ford empire, but says the three new concept cars show that things are about to change.“All the steps are adding facets to the story and the equity behind the new architecture and platform. Design wise, functionality wise, safety wise.”One of the major breakthroughs is a dashboard that’s been shorn of buttons and complexity in a pointer to a Volvo future where all but essential driving controls are moved to a tablet-style display.“Not having to deal with buttons and controls for a growing number of functionalities is like being freed from a pair of handcuffs,” says Volvo’s interior design director, Robin Page.Away from the concept car front, Andersson ten-fold sales growth in China in less than five years, stabilisation in Europe and a plan for the USA, including an engine strategy built around new four-cylinder powerplants.But Andersson knows that cars are what counts and forecasts a quick and comprehensive revitalisation of the range, starting with the XC90 - a luxury SUV that has grown old and dowdy through more than 10 unchanged years.“In this indutry, you cannot have a 12-year lifecycle and compete successfully. We have some core segments that we need to be in, and we are also looking at other segments where we could possibly grow. You have to deliver. Rather than over-expanding the range, we would rather focus and make success in the segments where we operate. We have to stay the course.”He is confident that Geely has the cash and commitment to allow its luxury division to flourish in the same way that Indian cash from the Tata Group has revitalised Jaguar Land Rover in Britain and allowed the creation of classy newcomers such as the Jaguar F-Type sports car and all-new Range Rover.“The interest from our Chinese owner is obviously very high. The difference between the current (Geely) ownership and previous (Ford) ownership is that we don’t have functional involvement from our new owners. We run very much as an independent company within the group. And there is a very strong understanding that Volvo needs to stay Volvo.”This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover 

The third-generation TT is lighter and more powerful, has more technology and picks up the best of the MQB platform developed by Volkswagen Group as the foundation for dozens of new models starting with the award-winning Golf and Audi A3.The new TT, unveiled at the Geneva motor show this week, will land in Australia in the first quarter of 2015. The original TT from 1998 was a landmark car for Audi, edgy and enjoyable, but things went soft when the car got bigger and more luxurious.Now Audi says the car is about 50kg lighter while being considerably stronger, slightly smaller but with a longer wheelbase, and fitted with technology that is more driver-friendly. The boot is bigger and the seats are set lower."More than ever before, in the third generation the TT is a sports car," says Audi Australia spokesman Shaun Cleary. "You can see that in everything from the styling to the layout of the interior. It's also about technology with things like the virtual cockpit, which eliminates a central display screen and puts everything in front of the driver. The engines have more power and there is a focus on driving dynamics." The 2.0-litre is up from 155kW to 169kW. The TT-S gets a 28kW boost (to 228kW) and an extra 30Nm (to 380Nm).A new version of the quattro AWD feeds more torque to the rear in keen driving. The TT-S's 0-100km/h sprint time is trimmed from 5.3 secs to 4.7. There is also a front-drive diesel variant, although Audi has yet to reveal its model plans for Australia. The new TT is part of a stronger performance push at Audi. The brand already has confirmed the S1 quattro will go into production and a TT-RS is certain to join the updated sports car line-up."There are more and more S and RS models. It wasn't long ago at all that there was only a single RS model at a time. Now there are eight,” says Cleary. Among the new technology in the TT is "Matrix LED" headlamps developed by Hella, aircon controls positioned in the air vents and a steering wheel airbag that takes up 40 per cent less space.This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover 

Monday in Adelaide is a great time to be driving a Volvo. People stop to talk, grab snaps and smile as my Polestar S60 is readied for a day of Carsguide action.

...as the i20 gets its first total renewal since the start of Australian sales. The full body swap promises more comfort, class and refinement in a similar size at a similar price.The new i20 is already set to compete in the 2015 World Rally Championship. Expect to see it here late in 2014 with prices starting under $15,000.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

...with a five-door Cooper included in the mix. Carparazzi caught it in winter tests and says it's not the new Countryman, but a car that's closer to the basic three-door hatch with some added practicality from a longer wheelbase.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

...but it's not the Pullman that will take over the unloved Maybach's role at Daimler. The S-Class XL pictured during winter testing has a 2+2 cabin with lots of luxury thanks to an extra 200mm of rear-seat space.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover