Articles by Paul Gover

It's been a long, long time since Mercedes-Benz had a baby car as charismatic - and vitally important - as its all-new A-Class hatch. Actually, this might be the first.The 190E of 1984 was a giant breakthrough, and was even delivered in Australia for the first time with racer red paintwork, but was really just a shrunken S-Class at a much nicer price. This time around, the hero colour for the all-new A-Class is matt silver. And there are tasty little tweaks, inside and out, provided by the same AMG operation that builds road rockets like the C63 Black Series beast.Parked outside the Mercedes-Benz museum in downtown Stuttgart, an A250 Sport looks hot. "Is this it?," asks one beanie-clad youngster as a crowd begins to form. "Is it real, or just the concept?," asks another. "Can I get inside, please? Just for a minute?," says a third, opening a door, as a security guard arrives.Yes, it's that kind of car. "We want younger people. More sporty people," A-Class project chief, Johann Buss, confirms to Carsaguide at an exclusive briefing once the crowd has been cleared. "Our A-Class is the key to open that door. We want somebody between 30 and 35, but people who feel young. If you feel young, and want to drive a dynamic car, we offer you the new A-Class."The top man at Daimler, Dieter Zetsche, admits Mercedes-Benz has become too much like a Swiss army knife - efficient but with zero personality - and Buss is one of the men chosen to change things. He is a 40-something engineer who dresses as young and fresh as the A-Class, which he believes will spark things up in a fight with the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series. And perhaps the Volkswagen Golf.He points to big things, like a five-door body that's a close match to the original Benz concept car, and little things like the cabin plastics, the back-seat space, and the giant display screen sitting proudly in the centre of the dashboard. "If you look at the details, it's not a cheap car," Buss says.The specification of the car includes the stuff you get in bigger Benzes, like the Pre-Safe crash system, but the look is way more adventurous than the sister B-Class that's aimed at families. In fact, the new B-Class is intended to mop-up the people who have bought either a stumpy A-Class or the boxy B-Class hatch in the past, leaving fresh ground for the A despite the car's sharing their basic mechanical package."It's totally different, where the B-Class is the follower of the predecessor car," Buss says. "This is something we've never had before. But it still has to be affordable - and 100 per cent Mercedes-Benz. That's tricky." The final result shows lots and lots of promise, and it's promised for Australia with a starting price of less than $35,000 in the early months of next year.So, finally, what does Buss say about the A250 Sport shining brightly in the spring sun? "It's the point of the point." But there is no way he is letting Carsguide get an early drive ahead of the official press preview next month. "Sorry, you just have to wait," he says. Just like all the others, including the crowd gathering again, who can finally see a new future for the world's oldest carmaker. 

Goldilocks is a great name for a car with a rare combination of grace and pace that means she is 'just right' despite a price tag that could soar beyond $450,000 in Australia.The new high-class Benzmobile would make an ideal Bond girl, thanks to great DNA and some hardcore bootcamp training at AMG. What a pity, then, that the boring blokes from Mercedes have played it staid and settled on a predictable combination of numbers and letters that spells out SL63 AMG. We've even seen that line before, but not like this.Goldilocks can make an elegant entrance or run with the guns, and the choice is down to you. She has the latest two-seater roadster body, and all the luxury gear you expect from an SL, with the addition of a twin-turbo 5.5-litre V8 engine that makes with up to 900 Newton-metres of torque and serves up 0-100km/h sprints in 4.2 seconds with a top speed as outrageous as 280km/h.It will take series money to put the new SL AMG in the driveway, but this is a very, very serious car that you could buy and keep for a long time. So, why Goldilocks? For a start, the SL is more feminine than blokey-bloke despite its muscles. And, for me, the hottie SL is the 'just-right' choice among the AMG roadsters.The baby-bear SLK55 AMG is raw and flawed, with too much engine for the chassis and suspension, while the big daddy SLS AMG is too big and too hot, from its look-at-me styling to an engine that's wasted for anything but frying the rear tyres. Without worrying about the $487,500 pricetage.So the SL sits sweetly in the middle with potential appeal to Bentley convertible buyers on one side and even Porsche Boxster enthusiasts on the other. But let's get on with the story, as we go exploring in the forests in the south of France.VALUEPeople who can afford cars like this one don't have the usual worries about mortgages and pump prices, but everyone wants a bargain in 2012. So there is a lot of good new stuff in the SL, from the basic aluminium body through to the value-added key with the silver AMG crest.Buyers can always ask for more, and the obvious choice is the Performance Pack that brings more power and torque - up to 415kW and 900Nm - as well as red paint on the brake callipers. The SL63 currently sells for $418,670 and that's the target for the newcomer later this year, even though the total changeover has cost plenty."The price is going to follow the existing car fairly closely. We're doing what we can to hold the price line," says David McCarthy, spokesman for Mercedes-Benz Australia. He says the importance of the car cannot be over-rated. "It's pretty small numbers in Australia but it sets a benchmark. We sell a couple of dozen a year."For people who want even more, and not a Gullwing, McCarthy confirmed there will also be an SL65 AMG - with twin-turbo V12 - engine. "That car will only be to customer order. We have V12 owners who come back time and again, because for them there is nothing else."TECHNOLOGYIt starts with the alloy body and ends with the giant 19-inch alloy wheels, but the highlights include the 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8, a tweaked seven-speed automatic gearbox, electric power steering and even a carbon fibre frame for the folding convertible roof. And there is an analogue clock in the centre of the grille, thanks to AMG's tie-up with the top-end watch maker, IWC."The car in total has a lot of AMG parts. We changed the major parts," says Thomas Rappel, head of product strategy at AMG-Mercedes. Even the remaining Benz basics, like the suspension and safety systems, are tweaked to give a more sporty feel. "All the parts you see, touch and feel - and the IWC clock on the dash - are AMG. This one is more the enthusiast. He's not taking it on a track every day, but he wants the noise and the agility," Rappel says.DESIGNGoldilocks is the first car with a new twin-spar grille that will become an AMG signature. It's applied to a car where the AMG tweaking works well with the chunkier new look at Mercedes-Benz.Some of the latest Benzes look too heavy, or a bit cartoonish, but the SL works and fits into a range where the latest A-Class also reflects the successful change of direction under design chief Gordon Wagener. Inside, there is restrained strength about the look and feel of the SL. The finishing, as you would expect, is flagship material with everything you want and need.SAFETYFive stars is a given for this car. ANCAP will never test one, and even Euro NCAP is unlikely to have a budget that runs to killing an SL, but Benz has a long history of setting the standard for safety. In the case of the SL AMG, that means ABS and ESP tweaked for performance use, as well as the sort of big brakes and giant tyres - the Performance Pack cars get 255x35 and 285x30 - that improve grip and safety.DRIVINGMy time with the SL starts in the passenger seat, where I am happy to find plenty of legroom, brilliant aircon, cushy leather seats and a very quiet cabin. The car seems to dribble along happily, the ride is not too soft and not too firm, and - despite the erratic efforts of my Brazilian driver - the SL can obviously go hard, with the overtaking power you usually only get on a big-bore motorcycle.Sliding into the driver's seats, on roads close to the course for the Porsche Boxster preview drive last month, I'm not expecting too much. The SL has always been a cruiser car and I'm worried that recent experience of the SLK55 - which bucked and bounced on Victorian country roads - would be repeated.The SL has a restrained rumble as I idle onto the French backroads but it turns to thunder when I floor the throttle. The car positively erupts and devours any stretches of straight roads. But it also crushes bumps and undulations and the nose happily follows my commands to turn, giving great grip and balance through corners before more thunder on the next straight.I had expected a lazy loping beast with added stoplight speed, but the AMG hero is a well rounded package that can easily waft before switching to warp speed. I even believe it would defeat the Boxster on these roads, not because of better response or balance, but because it gets briskly through corners and has so much torque on tap.The SL63 is also quiet with the roof up, surprisingly unruffled with it down, is easy to park and has acceptable boot space. There is an annoying rattle in the dash of one car, and the price is outrageous, but Goldilocks is a car to like a lot, and potentially love.VERDICT:The midstream model of the AMG-Mercedes roadster family is just right.Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMGPrice: estimate $450,000+Warranty: 3 years/100,00kmResale: 49 per cent, $205,100 (Glass's Guide)Service interval: 15,000km/12 monthsSafety rating: Five star (estimated)Spare: Space-saverEngine: 5.5-litre twin turbocharged V8 395kW/800NmTransmission: 7-speed auto; RWDBody: 4.63m (L); 1.87m (w); 1.3m (h)Weight: 1845kgThirst: 9.9/100km; 231g/km Co2

... the German brand still intends to have an Estate car in the new 3-Series range. The newcomer is expected to have a significantly bigger cabin and a more-flexible load space when it is unveiled later this year.

... do something really special to the baby A-Class hatchback. It's already providing tuning tweaks but the latest rumours point to a 2.0-litre turbo engine and all-wheel drive that will make the A a real AMG.

... Paceman, which has been developed from a motor show tease into a car that could be sold as the Countryman Coupe.It's another of the more practical Mini models - definitely less wild than the Coupe - and is certain to join the line down under.

The GM-owned brand surrendered the Commodore's crown as Australia's favourite car last year, but still ended up with a healthy bottom line. It has just reported an $89.7 million profit after also suffering a fall in overall revenues last year. The result is a significant positive for a company that has battled hard in recent years, particularly during the time that its parent - General Motors - was in bankruptcy.  The profit is well short of the $400 million-plus outcomes of the good years for Fishermans Bend but is likely to be better than either of the other local carmakers, Ford and Toyota, manage in their next set of financial results. "Local carmakers face tough economic conditions with the high Australian dollar, higher prices and disruption in the local supply base, and increasing competition and segmentation in the market," says George Kapitelli, the chief financial officer at Holden.  But he confirms that Holden is committed to Australia. "We're running our business responsibly and sustainable for the long term," he says.  Holden built 90,424 cars at Elizabeth in South Australia last year, an increase of 36.8 per cent that was largely thanks to the introduction of the compact Cruze. It also lifted V6 engine production by 2.9 per cent to 101,019, and increased its vehicle exports by 54.2 per cent thanks to shipments of 12,068 cars to the Middle East, New Zealand, North America, Brazil and South Africa.  

... the latest blue-on-white camouflage. The plug-in hybrid, which should be a real sports car with a 0-100km/h time below five seconds, is the start of BMW Group's new i sub-brand and is set for sales in late 2013. How much? No change from $65,000. But nothing is confirmed yet for Australia.

The Commodore VF, Holden Colorado 7 and Opel Astra GTC have all been caught on camera in recent weeks during test runs out of Melbourne. The hottest hit was scored by Ben Williams, who shot the camouflaged Commodore (below) during country runs with a group of current cars and - surprisingly - a full-sized Dodge. "I saw the car in country Victoria. It was with a group of Commodores. There was also an American car (above)," says Williams. The Colorado 7, which plugs a giant hole in Holden's SUV lineup later this year, is caught wearing a different style of disguise in a Melbourne carpark. "I saw this car at my local shopping center car park. I think it's a new SUV for Holden," says Jon Walker. Holden has already announced preliminary details on the car, which is based on the Chevrolet Trailblazer and will be the first full-sized SUV for the brand in almost a decade." “Australians are buying more SUVs than ever before. The Colorado 7 will be a perfect fit for customers looking for the increased packaging flexibility and lifestyle benefits of clever interior storage, seven seats and rugged off-road performance," says Holden's John Elsworth. But there is nothing yet on the exact specification or the crucial pricing. Mathieu Lewis only manages a quick glimpse at a speedy yellow coupe but he knows what he's got.  "I spotted the new Opel Astra GTC on Punt Road in Melbourne. It's a rough photo I managed to get of it through the mirror," he says.  Opel has no details yet on its sales plan for the hot hatch, but is surprisingly happy it has been snapped.  "Yes, it is one of our GTCs, the very first to arrive in the country," says Michelle Lang, spokesperson for Opel Australia. "I'm not surprised it was spotted - it's a head turner."  

According to Carparazzi, tweaking to the hot Mini - lowered suspension, new grille, rear diffuser and central exhaust - point to a John Cooper Works challenge edition.

Full details are coming within two months although sales of the X1 MkII, which is easily picked by its trendy LED daytime lamps, are unlikely in Australia before 2013.