Articles by Paul Gover

...is part of the Germany company's next drive. It's codenamed the CAT - for Compact Activity Tourer - and is coming as BMW twins a new range of super-small cars with the next Mini lineup. The CAT should be ready for the road in 2014 to face-off against Benz's baby A-Class range. Here late 2014 but no indication yet of price.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover

The biggest change in the switch to a new VW Group platform - that will also be the base of everything from the Volkswagen Touareg to the Lamborghini Urus - is a body change that means the next Q7 will be about 400 kilograms lighter.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover

It didn't help actor Yul Brynner, who sounded the warning after contracting a fatal cancer, but it could help you at trade-in time. Keeping tobacco smoke away from your car's cabin is likely to add hundreds, or even thousands, to its secondhand price. And it's almost certainly helping your health as well. A friend of Carsguide emails this week to raise the question of smoking in cars, after an interesting encounter during his morning commute. "I saw a woman this morning in a brand-new BMW 5 Series smoking her lungs out with all the windows up and pondered if this would affect resale. I reckon a non-smoker's car must be worth more," he says. A quick call to Glass's Guide, the Australian authority on secondhand sales, reveals nothing substantial but a clear pointer. "We do not consider smoking as a criteria while predicting residual values," says Rashad Parkar. "However, we believe that smoking does have a detrimental effect when it comes down to car valuation. If the car has cigarette marks or damaged upholstery due to smoking this will definitely impact residual values in a negative manner." But things are more black-and-white in the USA, where research shows that even a heavy tobacco odour can put people off a car. The only serious study we can find on the subject is from San Diego in 2008 and it says a smoker's car would be worth up to nine per cent less in the USA. Surprisingly, more than 20 per cent of cars for sale were owned by smokers or had been smoked in during the previous year, where more than 90 per cent of non-smokers banned any sort of tobacco ignition in their cars. The study is funded by an anti-tobacco group so needs to be put into context, but lists more than 4000 chemicals in secondhand smoke and nicotine levels 30 times higher in smoker's cars than ones which are tobacco free. "When tobacco is smoked in the enclosed environments of passenger cars, air concentrations of tobacco smoke pollutants can become extremely high. Many of the pollutants attach to surfaces and accumulate in duster from where they can be released back into the air over days and weeks after smoking," says Penelope Quintana, one of the study's author and a professor in the school of public health in San Diego. The American research is nasty stuff but the everyday crackdown on smoking since then is bound to be producing an even bigger impact, as smoking becomes less and less tolerated in all areas of everyday life. The changing attitude is also reflected in the way car companies look at smoking. These days, many cars do not have an ashtray and the cigarette lighter has become a power socket. It's a huge contrast to the days when Jaguar had identical chromed ash receptacles at three points in its XJ limousine, allowing the owner - or fiery journalists - to rotate them until all three were choked and in need of a full-scale clean out. If you want a cigarette lighter in a BMW you must pay extra. And it's been that way for years. But power sockets are spreading faster than nicotine addiction and most cars have at least three, with the highest plug-in count we've discovered in an American SUV with six. Cigarettes are on the way out but now we're plugging in phone chargers and GPS navigation systems on a daily basis, as well as back-seat entertainment systems and - once again, in the USA - beverage warmers for the giant coffee containers the seem to be compulsory for commuters. But we still have to ask if we're swapping one danger for another in cars, stubbing out the cigarette threat but plugging in giant distractions that can easily lead to more trouble than a slump in the secondhand price. This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover

It should be previewed early next year and on the road in 2015. Land Rover's next bedrock car will be bigger and more luxurious but still in the affordable mid-sized SUV class. This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover

The next James Bond car is ready for action, thanks to a renewed performance push from Aston Martin. The British brand has just fired up the Vantage V12 S, a supercar with 423 kilowatts of power and a top speed of 330 km/h - with a pricetag likely to sit some way beyond $400,000.The extreme machine comes as Aston racks up racing successes around the globe but struggles to build sales and break away from the perception that it builds too many cars with similar looks and similar appeal.It has also failed in its efforts to find a ‘big brother’ for future development work, despite attempting to forge a link to AMG Mercedes-Benz.The performance of the new Vantage flagship is only topped by Aston's super-costly and super-rare One-77, a carbon fibre speed machine with a pricetag beyond $1.5 million. Only a single One-77 made it to Australia.The V12 S is already confirmed for local owners in 2014, replacing the existing V12 Vantage, although there are few other details.“Yes, it's coming. It will be early next year and in limited numbers,” the newly-appointed head of Aston Martin in Australia, Kevin Wall, tells Carsguide. He says it's too early to talk dollars but is clear on the car's appeal.“The price will be decided closer to the release. It will be primarily for existing Aston clients, although it will appeal to those looking for the kind of car that James Bond would drive.”Aston Martin says the V12 S picks up technology from its racing program, including a tweaked 6-litre V12 engine that even comes with a shorter, lighter and louder exhaust similar to the One-77. It has better low-down response with 510 Newton-metres from just 1000 revs.The car's robotised manual transaxle is lighter and makes sharper shifts, there are three-stage adaptive dampers in the suspension, quicker power steering is fitted and is drive adjustable for feel, there are new 10-spoke alloys and even a black-painted roof that extends down into the bootlid.“It is extreme in its nature. Learning from our successes on the track feeds the development of this type of car and I'm proud to launch such an exciting sports car in this, our centenary year,” says the chief executive of Aston Martin, Ulrich Bez.“It is our most powerful engine in a beautifully tailored suit. It is elegant, yet brutal.” Visually, the car gets aluminium vanes in its new-look grille but there are few other changes beyond the seats - including a carbon fibre sports choice - and an optional carbon fibre dress-up pack for the cabin.But the good news on the Vantage S is offset in Australia by a safety recall of around 90 Aston Martins sold between May 2012 and April this year.They need to be checked for a potentially faulty accelerator pedal, which could fracture and leave the driver with an engine at idle. There have been six reported failures overseas. The models involved are the V8 and V12 Vantage, DB9, Virage and Rapide S.This reporter is on Twitter @paulwardgover 

The baby SUV is set to be docked a star by NCAP in Australia because it is not fitted with rear airbags, even though it has just received the top five-star ranking from European NCAP without them.It will also take the hit because it must pass a roof-crush test, although that is in the plan for ANCAP testing in 2014.The head of ANCAP, Nicholas Clarke, says he is stunned that Renault is not demanding cars for Australia with rear airbags because the Captur follows the Clio which is also airbag-free in the rear."It beggars belief that they could not get it up. If they are going to sell the car here then that is what we require," he tells Carsguide."It strikes me as a bit odd that this has blown up. I understand that Renault is not happy about it."But he is adamant."The Captur result will be capped at four stars. It's required to have rear curtain airbags, or rear head protection technology. The other thing for the Captur is that from 2014 we require a roof crush result. That's mandatory for five stars from January."He admits the Captur could clear the roof hurdle, and ANCAP is intending to check that locally by buying a car to test, but says all carmakers including Renault have had plenty of warning about the rear-airbag requirement for a local five-star ranking."In our forward plan, which we developed from about 2009 and then published at the beginning of 2011, it was made clear at that time that from 2014 we would require head protecting technology in the rear and the roof.""This was negotiated with industry through the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, which Renault is a member of. It shouldn't be news to anybody."Clarke also says Renault has a long history with five-star cars and rear airbags, and questions the decision not to fit them in the Clio and Captur."There are lots of small cars with full-length rear airbags. So it's not impossible to fit them. I think, also, that Renault have had curtain airbags in the rear for a number of years."Despite the push-back from NCAP in Australia, the result for European NCAP is the fifteenth five star result for Renault and backs the recent result for the Clio on which the Captur is based.

A new BRZ S has been added to pump up the sports car line, tapping the STI genes from Subaru's go-faster division in Japan. The pack puts another $7995 on the bottom line for a BRZ - which currently stands at $37,150 - but Subaru is expecting a sellout success with the new deal, which is the first change to the company's radical sales plan - one model, online orders only - to step its car away from the near-identical Toyota 86. The S pack combines 11 individual items from STI's BRZ catalogue into a single deal, with the upgrading work done as cars land in Australia from Japan. “We've had a lot of interest from day one in individualising the BRZ. The STI accessories allow that,” Nick Senior, managing director of Subaru Australia, tells Carsguide. He admits there is nothing to make the car quicker, which is why it does not carry an STI badge. “There has to be a performance upgrade for a car to be called an STI. Like the WRX.” But Senior says the S pack is intended to tap the demand for extra personality on the BRZ and add some spark after the first flush of Australian sales. “There is an obvious benefit now if people buy the whole package, which costs $7995,” he says. “Buyers can still get the individual parts but there is a benefit if they take the lot.” The STI parts have only become available in the past month and the S pack runs from front and rear spoilers to a suspension tower bar and coil springs, 17-inch STI alloys and a rear diffuser to a manual shift kit with Duracon knob and a push-button start switch. Senior says the STI parts are produced in Japan before being shipped to Australia. They cannot be fitted in Japan because there is no capacity at the factory, which also builds the Toyota 86 and is running at full speed. “There would be extra costs and complications if the work was done in Japan, including shipping to an additional compound with those transport costs. So we are doing it as a port fit here. “At the end of the day it's better to do it here. The quality, either here or there, would be the same.” Senior expects up to 10 per cent of BRZ buyers to go for the S pack, although it could go higher. “What we're finding is that the BRZ has an attractive entry price and people are looking at personalising their car.” He does not expect the S to create any extra demand for the BRZ, which is currently rated at a four-month wait time at the online site created for all local orders. “It's actually about three months at the moment. It got out to 14 months at one stage,” says Senior. But there is good news with the wait falling steadily and supplies improving from Japan. “We are coming off our best-ever sales for BRZ, which was 187 in May. We also did 129 in April. “So we have been able to eat into that order bank significantly. The factory has been able to supply us with more cars and that's helping.” This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover  

It's still wrapped in camouflage, and based on the current C-Class body, but packs the 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 already fitted to a range of AMG models including the SL63.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover  

The only obvious changes are around the nose, with a modified air intake, but the Polo is likely to get a value boost before it follows Golf 7 into a total overhaul late in 2014.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover  

If the VF is the very last Commodore then it's a great way to sign off. This is truly a Holden hero, with world-class sophistication and refinement.In many ways, the VF update is more like an all-new car than a mid-life update and facelift of the VE. Close to 70 per cents of the parts on the cars are new - and so is a pricing policy that tears a minimum of $5000, and as much as $9800, from the bottom line.You only have to drive the cars for a few minutes, as I did in a preview sweep from the new Evoke through to the Calais V, to see and feel and enjoy the changes that reflect the best of Australian engineering and the best of global sourcing.The VF is only a couple of ticks away from perfect. There is no hybrid, no four-cylinder fuel miser, and the centre part of the car is carried over - including the unloved exterior mirrors - and those are the only things that stop it scoring a five-star Carsguide rating.But the VF Commodore has booked and paid for a place at this year's Car the Year shootout and should easily reverse the nasty sales slide suffered by the VE over coming months.Is the VF package enough to save the Commodore? No, but it's more than good enough to put an old-fashioned Aussie six back on the shopping list.The extra value in the VF is not just on the bottom line. Yes, the new Evoke starter car is priced from $34,990 and that makes it $5000 cheaper than the outdoing base model and the cheapest Commodore in more than a decade.The price cuts - and that's what they are, although Holden is painting it as a benefit from the Australian dollar - slash as deeply as $9800 for the Calais V with V6 engine and headlining SS-V manual.But there is so much extra equipment in the car, particularly on the technology front, that the benefit to buyers is even bigger.Compared with the old Omega, the Evoke gets things like auto park assist and an eight-inch colour touch screen to control the infotainment system.As you move up the line the deals get even better, which helps to position the Commodore as a genuine import fighter and not just an old-fashioned Aussie six.It's much more likely to be shopped against a Nissan Maxima or Honda Accord now, while the wagons make a better case against the fully-loaded SUVs that are so popular for school runs and shopping.But there are still some buts. No-one knows how the impending end of the Commodore line in 2016 - despite Holden's claims that it will continue the Commodore badge on the car's foreign-spawned successor - will affect resale values. And that's a very big deal, both for private buyers spending big and for the fleets who have traditionally provided the backbone for Australian car sales.Changes to the VF run all the way down to the basic body structure, including a new firewall to cut noise intrusion and new foot pedals for the driver.The bonnet and bootlid are now stamped from aluminium to cut weight, as the VF drops around 100 kilograms from the VE in the search for better efficiency.The Evoke package includes auto park assist - for both parallel and right-angle parking - as well as all-round radar and a rear-view camera. Holden claims improved voice recognition, full Bluetooth with iPod integration, Apps including Pandora and SmartRadio, as well as the giant eight-inch touch screen in the dash.Things get predictably better as you move up the range, with the Calais getting blind-spot warning and the Calais V also has forward collision alert and a coloured heads-up dashboard display.The changes to the VF bodywork are not huge, but more than enough to mark it out as a new Commodore.The crew at Fishermans Bend worked hard to make the car look more aggressive but also more grown-up, even smoothing the rear-end look and insetting the rear glass slightly. The new nose is significantly different and works well both on the luxury and sporty SS models.Things really get good inside, from the new dash to seats which are both more supportive and set lower for a better driving position.The layout is a huge change and so is the presentation work, including the mix-and-match approach to surfaces and materials. You won't find a boring slab of black plastic in the VF, which has all sorts of contrasting design work from the new door skins - which hold the electric window switches on the drivers' side, up from the console - through to the impressive new centre stack.The VF is, not surprisingly at all, a five-star winner with ANCAP. But … Americans will get their VF, tizzied and badged as the Commodore SS, with knee airbags for both front seats. Holden says they are not needed here, and that American crash testing usually includes results for un-belted passengers, but you still have to wonder.On the other side, the Evoke package includes all that parking help, as well as an electric parking brake, hill-start asset and vehicle-sway control, and further up the line the active electronics will make a real difference with the forward collision and lane departure alerts.And, in a country where far too many people spend their time focused on the speedometer and not looking ahead for potential hazards, the heads-up display is a big advance.The bottom line on the VF Commodore is impressive. The car is a great drive, from the Evoke right through to the Calais V.What's most impressive is the refinement and composure. The new Holden hero is easily the best Australian car I have driven, wipes rivals like the Honda Accord, and is more like an Audi or BMW in the way it covers ground with comfort and finesse.It's not perfect, although even the clunky old V6 engine is now far quieter than in the past. I just wish Holden had been able to junk the undersized rear-view mirrors, as it has even managed to improve visibility by slimming the oversized A-pillars that blighted the VE.My advance drive of the VF happens at Holden's Lang Lang proving ground, on roads I know well and respect immensely. It might be a closed course but it has the sort of surfaces and corners that show up even the tiniest flaws.First up, I notice the extra comfort and support in the seat and the lack of engine noise. Even the pedals seem more isolated than before.The performance is not noticeably better, despite Holden work and the slightly better economy, but I'm not as busy over bumps and the cornering grip is good without throwing me around. The six-speed auto shifts smoothly, although the manual is still a bit of a beast.At highway speeds the car is really noticeably quieter, and there is plenty to play with in the cabin. I'm past the Gen-Y gadget age, and it's really a job for a full-scale test, but the infotainment package is a clear step up on anything else made here.And then there are the little things, like cleaning the console by moving the switches to the door - and outside the spill zone alongside the upholders - and adding an electric parking brake.My bottom line on the VF Commodore is simple: four stars. That's a great result at a time when big Aussie sixes are, like the dinosaurs, heading towards extinction. The score would have been better if Holden had a hybrid or a four-cylinder greenmobile - like Ford's EcoBoost Falcon - and if those mirrors were bigger.Holden has done a great job on the VF, which thoroughly deserves the tag as Australia's best car.It's just sad that the goalposts have shifted and Australia's best is not good enough, or satisfying enough shoppers, to resist the rising tide of imports.