Articles by Paul Pottinger

Not from everyone, you understand. Not even from most of you. It is, after all, our very purpose in life to shine clarity on these murky waters, to be a pillar of logic in what is the biggest purchasing decision most of us make, after our home.It is a privilege and a pleasure to help. If our reviews somehow leave you in any doubt, feel free to call for more advice any time during business hours. So what am I on about? I'm on about the minority for whom this question is rhetorical, those who will ask: ''What do you think of BRAND X?'' when what they mean is: ''Clearly I've already bought this box of spanners; now tell me how great it is and/or how hot I look in it.''After a few years you learn to spot this sort of thing coming and deflect the demand with a mild ''I'd really rather not say''. Or ''Please, not while there are children present,'' or ''Look! Over there!'' and execute the quiet sneak. (This works more often than you might imagine.)The fact of it is people don't want to hear bad stuff about their cars. They take it incredibly badly. They take it, not altogether unreasonably, as a personal slight.Well, too bloody bad. That is, may I repeat, what we're here for. That said, I do kind of get it when owners of Lancers with continuously variable transmissions complain about me comparing the CVT drone to the voice of Eric ''Oz Car Affair'' Abetz.In retrospect this was a cruel thing to say about a very sound car that I've personally recommended to several readers.Of course, there are some people who simply can't be helped. According to the FCAI, three people bought Saabs in February.Not even the new but stupidly overpriced 9-5 but the rattly relic chunk of nineties-stalgia, the 9-3. I'd love them to ask what I think.

For some of you it really is a case of four doors and a boot or no deal. Never understood that myself. Still, takes all sorts - last week I actually saw someone driving a Dodge Avenger. Marketing types, being insightful in a way that mere hacks are not, understand there are people, whole populations indeed, for whom a hatch is seen as a bit déclassé.Only a sedan confers that vital sense of upwards mobility - so it is in the US and Japan. Most of Asia for that matter. It matters not that the four doors in question have on the whole tended to look all too like what they are - misbegotten and deformed siblings of a hatchback onto which a boot has been whimsically whittled.Pity the poor designers who must make silk purses from such pig's arses. So why bother with a sedan take on Kia's Carsguide Car of the Year winning Rio five door hatch?Because here's a small sedan that is all its own thing, an all but clean sheet design drawn by the inspired pen of Peter Schreyer, whose deft shapings have, perhaps more than any other single factor, transformed the way in which cars from Korea are seen. It helps that this sub-compact car's performance is not out of keeping with its visual promise.The four door comes in mid-spec SI trim with a choice of six-speed transmission to drive the willing direct injection four cylinder engine. Tags of $19,690 for the manual and $2K more for the self shifter border on those asked for the next size up, but the Rio sedan is something of a segment shifter.It's a fairly full bowl of fruit to boot, with leather trim, 16-inch alloys, front fogs, six speakers and soft touch materials that make for one of the better cabins in this class. Not that there's a plethora of four door  competition of this size at the moment, Mazda having given up on that version of the Mazda2 and the new Yaris widely felt to be poorer than the one previous.Here's a maker of economy cars which grasps that it's one thing to stuff a cheap tin can full of gadgets in the guise of value, quite another to deliver a polished package. Of the more than 40 carmakers active here, Only Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and - for the moment - Skoda offer a five year warranty.Like most Asian carmakers, Kia is largely turbo petrol engine averse, though it is one of the few to employ direct injection, which, combined with those six speeders, realize as little as 5.6l/100km in the manual and a bare 0.5 more in the auto. Much of the tech sort resides in the work of Graeme Gambold's Kia Localisation Project.Competitor cars (most notably in this case our 2010 Car of the Year, VW's Polo) are each driven some 2000km in order to gauge to what extent the Kia needs to be tweaked from the distinctively different Korean market car. The factory is then requested to recalibrate Australian issue cars accordingly."They're aghast at some of the settings we ask for, but we get the eventually," he says. Essentially, Gambold - an engineering wizard in those dark arts of spring rates, steering, damping, pitch, yaw and tyre pressure - has adapted a softly set up car into one that you can drive not just in town but with assurance at speed on the open road.Can this man do no wrong? Not a half decade has passed since Kias looked as anonymous as their lowly place in the order of things dictated. Now, thanks to Herr Schreyer - who penned the original and game changing Audi TT -  Kia surely has the world's most visually striking range of affordable cars. While to my jaded, rheumy eyes, the new three door hatch wins the beauty contest, the sedan establishes something of new aesthetic benchmark.You will of course make up your own mind, but when you do I'd be interested to know: Do you think the sedan looks about a size bigger in white? Does to me. It's highly functional too, retaining the five door's internal dimensions and adding a formidable 389-litre boot that accommodates a full-size alloy spare. Hello? Volvo?It's this appearance of "legitimacy" as much as the impressive engineering aspects (more of which in a moment) that confirms small cars are no longer the secondary jigger you give the missus (or the mister), but a fully fledged family vehicle. As Kia's marketing chief, Steve Watt - a marketeer to whom I'll gladly defer - says: "Light cars are heading out of town now. They are a household's primary car."Five-star crash integrity is achieved with a battery of active and passive measures that until all too recently were at best optional at this end of the market, including six airbags and electronic stability control across the range. Where some rivals persist with old style drum rear brakes, the Rio wear discs fore and aft. Gambold looms in this chapter too, the neutral handling balance he has engineered is as crucial to the safety equation as any electronic device.It says much for the capability of this little device that the hotfoots among the media mob were lamenting the lack of a turbo-charged engine. In any guise , with any number of doors, the Rio is a confident, neutral handler that will almost certainly exceed the demands of its likely owners. The sixth cog of the auto serves it well, running the engine at 2500rpm on the freeway, with little external noise to suggest this is among the smallest class of cars. On a mixed open road and commuter traffic run from Sydney to the Central Coast hinterland, we used 5.8L/100km.Only on the steeper peaks of the Pacific Highway was a firmer foot required.  A manual mode allows a degree of shifting for yourself and, should the occasion, arise, is useful for stirring progress. Chiefly, though, it's the degree to which the Rio works away from the city streets that truly opens up the road.An award winner that shifts shape and looks the goods in any guise.

Whether you can't afford a Lancer Evo X or just can't see $66,000 in it these days, there's a real-world alternative that saves 20 big ones and a fair bit of wear on your fillings.The Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart runs a milder version of the Evo's engine and its previous generation's all-wheel-drive system. It can't emulate the staggering cat-on-a-curtain dynamics of the Lancer flagship but it must be the best-value hot family car to be had.VALUEThis gets better the closer you look with $44,490 for the MY12 version plus $450 for metallic paint. Standard is brake assist system, nicer trims, eight spoke alloys and reversing sensors with a brilliant, class-leading rear mirror mounted camera.The $4000 luxury pack adds multi-media system, premium audio and leather. That's approaching Golf R money  but VW's service costs are wincingly steep. The Mitsu provides capped costs to 60,000km, five years roadside assist, a five-year/130,000km warranty and a whole decade's powertrain protection.As the bloke at the garage said: "Who guarantees a turbo for 10 years?" If value is peace of mind, Mitsubishi has the pack eating dust.TECHNOLOGYOne gearbox for the Ralliart, the six-speed TC-SST automated manual which transmits the four-cylinder turbo petrol's handy 177kW/343Nm to all four wheels. Flappy paddle tranny aside, there's nothing altogether new about its array but, as with so much about the "Lallirat" it is unexceptional but exceptionally effective.The AWD system lacks  the miraculous yaw sensors of the Evo X, getting instead a simpler rear differential. Again, it's surpassingly adequate.STYLING"Polarising" to be polite. The problem with so strident a design as the Lancer's is its propensity to age rapidly. Standing out is one thing, sticking out is another  see the Mazda3 in a few years. Some already see the near-five-year-old Lancer that way.Equally subjectively, I much prefer the sedan, though I'd pay money to de-option its whacking great boot spoiler. Open the door and it's hard to contradict the detractors. Slabby, plasticky, grey and grim, the perception of ordinariness is hardly dispelled by doors that slam with a hollow tinny report. Sorry, a near-$50,000 car without a fully adjustable steering column just ain't good enough.SAFETYThe five-star crash safety rating equals the best. The average airbag component plus one (equals seven) puts it ahead. With the best front-wheel-drives being so adept, you can argue that the perceived advantage of all-paw grip is marginal. For the greater part of the time, there's much to this argument. Then there might come a time when maximum traction is vital.DRIVINGIf your driving life is spent on track trying to surpass your previous lap time, or otherwise at 10/10ths, you could take issue with the Ralliart's weight and less than linear acceleration off the mark. All the torque turns up at 2500rpm and it's plain sailing thereafter. Left in normal, the SST seeks high gear as early as feasible, kicking down smartly under a decent prod.Flipping sport mode takes it down a couple of gears  this is too frenetic for anything other than those mystical mountain roads untroubled by law enforcement. Body control is a highlight, especially given a near 1600kg kerb weight.VERDICTAs close as you'll come to an affordable shopping trolley go-kart.Mitsubishi Lancer RalliartPrice: from $44,490Engine: four-cylinder turbo petrol, 177kW/343NmTransmission: six-speed TC-SST ManualSafety: Five-star crash ratingWarranty: 5 years/130,000km

Start saving or perhaps investigate the organ donor black market — Mercedes-Benz's new SL is on the way. And it looks like this. The wraps came off the uber-luxury drop-top  early this morning to reveal the lighter, quicker and more efficient convertible that will reach our part of the world in the third quarter of 2012. It will be  officially unveiled at the Detroit motor show next month. This, Merc says, is a largely reinvented version of the 60-year-old model name. It is some 140kg lighter than the previous model with new tech ranging from BlueDIRECT engines that achieve prodigious performance with frugal consumption, to the evocatively named Magic Vision Control — which turns out to be a windscreen wipe-wash device. A neat new feature is Hand Free Access which brings contactless operation of the boot lid. The driver simply moves a foot in the vicinity of the rear bumper. "You would struggle to find a car that embodies Gottlieb Daimler's aspiration more perfectly than our new SL: the best or nothing,'' says head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Dr Dieter Zetsche. The new SL has a choice of two suspension systems, semi-active adjustable damping as standard and new electromechanical Direct-Steer speed-sensitive power steering. The flagship SL500 develops 320kW from its V8 and there's a massive torque increase to 700Nm. The new V6 of the SL350 is good for 225kW/370Nm and 6.8L/100km.

I did so want to believe the soon to be sole surviving Swedish carmaker was sponsoring the star turn of a Stockholm gentlemen's club.Yet while the model's designation might make for base humour, this limited edition sports tourer is no laughing matter. The meekest throttle opening makes that abundantly apparent. Polestar is Volvo's motorsport and performance partner.This house of fast cars (not fast women) has devised the software solution by which the already impressive 3.0-litre inline turbo six of the S60 becomes weapons grade.While there's but 50 to be had, a positive reception all but guarantees further such gambits from Volvo Australia. We wager this is a cert.VALUEAt $82,990, the Polestar carries no slight premium over the T6 with an R-Design kit and sports suspension. Essentially the extra $10k gets bespoke wheel/tyres, computerised zap, diffuser and exhaust. But in addition to this and the un-Germanly high spec of the T6, the Polestar brings the allure of virtual uniqueness. Volvo undertake to protect the investment by resisting the temptation to bring in more of this edition.Each is individually numbered and further distinguished by a discreet but distinctive Polestar badge hard by the R-Design logo. It's a subtle, desirable addition to a car that scarcely lacks on-road presence, an aspect enhanced by 19-inch Heico alloys around which are wrapped 254/35 Pirelli P Zeros with a ride height dopped by  by 15mm.DESIGNVolvo having mercifully dispensed with the "a bit naughty" ad campaign, we can now enjoy the lines of arguably the handsomest four door on the road free of the compulsion to grind teeth and clench fists.If it's true certain Asian auto house designers don't so much as sharpen a pencil until they've got an eyeful of the latest wares of their Euro contemporaries (and let's face it, they don't), it'll be treat to see affordable renderings of this distinctive sedan.Captivating enough unenhanced, the S60 appears full of intent and even predatory with the R-Design/Polestar treatment. It's in the eye of the beholder, to be sure, but do make mine white. Within all seats, particularly those up front manage the rare feat of being both supportive through bends and comfortbale over the long haul.TECHNOLOGYThis is a tuning package, Volvo are at pains to emphasize, that is not achieved via a chip not a plug in nor by any means of the tuner's dark art. Rather it's a bespoke software application that boosts the blown inline six's already formidable output by 18kW and 40Nm to a blistering 242kW/480Nm. That's better than the recently discarded V8 of the bigger S80 saloon.This is got to the road in an orderly and effective fashion via a six-speed Aisin torque converter auto (there being no in-house twin clutch transmission to handle all this twist) and an on-demand all-wheel-drive that kicks at 1/16th of a rotation variation in wheel speeds. Effectively that's instantaneous.SAFETYToo often Volvo road tests read like a cut and paste of the safety spec, so volumous is aspect. We'll spare you that, save to once more enthuse about the effectiveness of the Volvo's blind spot warning system and, in this instance patricularly, superb brakes that have cosiderable bite without breaking the ABS barrier.Almost equally reptitively, the S60/V60 range's massive caveat remains the absence of any sort of spare tyre. A boot space eating space saver package is a cost option. This appalling omission arguably cost the S60 entrant  the otherwise excellent T4  Carsguide's Car of the Year.DRIVINGVolvo people are at pains to paint their Polestar as anything but an M car or AMG, more an equivalent to the BMW and Merc below that exalted level. At any rate, the Polestar is a hugely able sporting grand tourer, rather than a sports sedan per se. Off the mark performance is rapid  the 0-100km/h time is shaved back to 5.8 seconds. Save for front wheel chirrup as the traction control kicks in, delivery is almost completely linear.That can't be said of the steering, which even in the lesser models is just a bit too abrupt off centre and more so here due to the rigid walls of the specially selected Pirellis. Not that it's innacurate or, at at about 2.7 turns lock-to-lock, overly quick.Rather this slightly artifical feel makes you think twice about exploiting the immense grip and corner carving potential that would surely approach  its klick crushing straight line capability. Tyre roar on coarser surfaces and a rigid, but generally complaint, ride are more than acceptable trade-offs not only for the dynamic but the visual enhancement they provide.VERDICTA blessing to the eye with soul-stirring performance to match, the Polestar is a fine alternative Euro. In the absence of genuinely new models, look forward to more such digressions from the Volvo norm.VOLVO S60 T6 POLESTARPrice: $82,990Warranty: 3 years unlimitedResale: 44 per centCrash Rating: Five starsEngine: 3.0-litre tutrbo inline six; 242kW/480NmBody: four door five seats Dimensions: 4628mm (L); 1865 (width); 1484 (h); 2776 (wb)Weight: 1684kgTransmission: Six-speed automatic; AWDEconomy: 10.2L/100km; 243g Co2 per km

An electric Holden that costs a “cup of coffee” to recharge will be on Australian roads in time for Christmas 2012. The Volt, made by Chevrolet and to be sold here as a Holden, uses an electric motor that can be charged from home mains with a small back-up petrol engine. This both recharges the battery as you drive and extends the car’s range to about 500km before refuelling or re-charging. Holden Chairman and Managing Director Mike Devereux said the Volt could travel for up to 80km of electric driving on its lithium-ion battery alone, which could then be re-charged in “four hours for about $2.50”. “That’s the price of a cup of coffee,” he said. “Though maybe not in Sydney.” The Volt can be recharged at a standard household power point. If an outlet isn’t to be found, it can be refuelled with petrol.   “Volt is the no compromise electric car.  It’s electric when you want it and petrol when you need it,” Mr Devereux said.  “It carries four people and their luggage. Volt will make driving more economical, more environmentally-friendly and will fundamentally change the way Australia thinks about alternative transport solutions. This is the sort of innovation that people don’t necessarily associate with Holden.” There is no word yet on pricing, though in the United States where the Volt has won the prestigious Motor Trend 2011 car of the year award, it is priced at about A$40,500. The Volt’s most notable client is talk show host Jay Leno. Though owner of some 200 prestige cars, his daily drive is the Volt in which he recently joined the 10,000 Mile (16,000km) Club, owners who have travelled that distance in electric cars. But the safety of electric cars was questioned last month when a Volt that had been crashed tested by safety officials, burst into flames some three weeks later. General Motors CEO Dan Akerson to buy back the car from any owner who is afraid it will catch fire. Devereux stood by the car’s safety record and said a possible solution to any such problem is to discharge the lithium-ion battery after a collision.

...this way — that is, Toyota-ish and as tedious as the Jetta and Passat.Wolfsburg evidently believes the way to beat its great rival is to out-bland it.

Question: Can a four go into a five?The answer, so far as the question has related to BMW's 5 Series, has for some time been yes. The qualifier's been that the four in question is a turbo diesel, it being accepted that any Bimmer four cylinder engine that sips petrol has about as much power in practice as a UN resolution. But there is legislation to which the marque synonymous with exhilarating inline sixes isn't immune, such as that of the EU which heavily taxes larger capacity engines and the juice that fuels them. So it's auf wiedersehen to bigger, naturally-breathing powerplants and in with smaller, more efficient units with turbos attached.If that means little or nothing to you, just know that when it comes to German cars, less engine really does mean better performance and economy. Take the Opel unit that powers the Holden-built Cruze.The new entry level 5 Series sedan is powered by an engine that not only makes a mockery of those who worship size for the sake of it, but which - when it also goes into the new 3 Series next year - could wrest class leadership from deadly rival Mercedes-Benz.VALUEAt $77,900 the 520i is about par with Audi's well-meaning A6  2.0 TFSI and a good six grand under the nearest equivalent E-Class. Standard kit includes 17-inch alloys, stop/start function, nav screen, front and rear park distance control, cruise control (with automatic braking), Bluetooth and audio streaming and anti-dazzle interior mirrors plus the fixtures you'd expect.So it starts from within the meat of the forthcoming 3 Series range, bringing it within reach of a new tier of buyers. The point is, that unlike the outgoing entry-level 3, there's nothing try hard about this Fiver.TECHNOLOGYFeel free to skip to next bit if you're not fussed by what lurks beneath the bonnet and do so safe in the knowledge that it does the job exceptionally. For those who wish to know more, BMW has finally clambered aboard the direct injection turbo four bandwagon that's long been driven by in this segment by Audi and has since been joined by Mercedes.This, the milder tune of two versions of a new 2.0-litre engine, is good for 135kW/270Nm due to a twin-scroll turbocharger in which DI is abetted by variable valve and double camshaft control. That makes for a respectable 0 to 100km/h dash time of eight seconds and highly respectable juice use of 6.4L/100km.That's in a good part due to the eight-speed automatic. We - well "I" actually - have sneered at octo autos as mere one gearmanship, what with Mercedes running a seven. Well, it works so seamlessly here that it redefines that word.DESIGNWhen Carsguide had the top whack 535i at last year's COTY, Gover said approvingly that BMW had decided to make the 5 Series a luxury car once more. After the confronting shape and spartan cabin of its Chris Bangle designed forebear, we saw at once what he meant.The great thing is you can move from the cockpit of a $150,000 5 Series into this and discern little or no difference. Audi is no longer the benchmark for cabin quality, fit and finish.The slightly longer front overhand of this generation Fiver might fly in the face of BMW convention, but it certainly doesn't hurt the aesthetics. Actually, seen sitting next to the previous model, it's not so great a departure as it appears initially. It's the sort of continuity that enhances resale.SAFETYTick them off. Five star Euro crash rating, full outfit of airbags et al. Optional is lane departure warning and radar cruise control with automatic braking. Anti-lock brakes, which allow steering under emergency stopping, are one thing, but the perfectly balanced front to rear weight distribution and the rear wheel drive tactility to take full advantage of that steering are quite another. Dynamics such as these put the "active" into "active safety".DRIVINGAgain the European dilemma - petrol or diesel. Both fours go happily into the 5. This time though, the gas sipper rather than the oiler gets the nod if only for what BMW are pleased to call "sheer driving pleasure". There's been sufficient precedents in the past few years for us not to be surprised by the ability of turbo DI fours to shift bigger European cars. Yet the new block astonishes afresh, not for scorching acceleration - though this is impressive - rather for relentlessness.There's hesitation off the mark  as the turbo spools up, but only the slightest - all the torque arrives from 1200rpm and remains on hand till 4000. Unless you're bashing the redline - which it's quite willing to do in manual mode - it's almost always giving you all the grunt its got and sound tastefully crisp and rorty as it does so.Capable when married to the diesel, the octo slusher is happier still with this unit, which at some 200km/h on the autobahn is barely north of 4000 revs in eighth gear. Australia's freeway limit is hardly going to tax it. And this, remember, is the lowest tune version.It will surely be only sweeter in the much lighter and more nimble 320i which arrives in our parts later next year after March's initial new 3 Series launch. In the meantime, we're bound to ask if the entry level 5 Series is too good for BMW's own good?Some 20 grand under the 528i and almost 60 under the twin turbo six 535i, it's difficult to mount a case for either in our part of the planet after cracking on in the 520i. Yes, of course it'd get flayed by its six cylinder slinging kinsmen in a straight line dash, but we're talking elegant sufficiency here, not glorious excess.Some of us have carped that the costly optional drive select mode has to be switched to optimum modes in order to achieve the dynamics you're entitled to expect from a BMW. The 520i's lighter front end makes for an engaging drive even without troubling Sport or the all out Sport Plus setting. When making the tyres yelp a bit, this feels very much like a slightly overgrown 3 Series - and that's as good as it gets.VERDICTAll the executive sedan you could want or need, the best 5 Series is the "least" of them.BMW 520iPrice: $77,900Warranty: 3 years/unlimitedResale: TCService Interval: 15,000/12 monthsEngine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol; 135kW/270NmBody: four doors, five seats Dimensions: 4899mm (L) 1860 (w) 1464 (h) 2968 (wb)Transmission: 8-sipped automatic; RWDThirst: 6.4L/100km; 149g Co2 km"Want 5 of the best? Look no further"

Once BMW's 3 Series was the car equated with almost but not quite affordable prestige. Now most who do reach this height in life buy a Mercedes-Benz.A year ago this month, unnoticed by all including Mercedes-Benz, its C-Class became the best-selling mid-size imported car. It hasn't happened every month since but it does occur as often as not - a German prestige car that starts just shy of $60,000 outsells some excellent Asian imports priced from half that sum by as much as two to one.Not so long ago, you'd have been locked up in a quiet place with soft walls for so much as suggesting  such a prospect. But so too would have been the prophet who foretold Holden's Commodore being beaten last month for the first time by  a European car (albeit the much  cheaper Volkswagen Golf).Entry executive sedans - the C-Class and its traditional BMW rival - were once the cars we wanted but couldn't attain. Now more of us are reaching that bit further beyond the top end of the medium class. Merc reckons   some of their new custom comes from those who previously bought top end Fords and Holdens. Not long ago, this too was inconceivable.The bad news for BMW is that at the moment, aspiration takes the form of a Tristar rather than a blue and white propeller badge - the C not the 3. With an outgoing entry level 320i that is pound for pound the poorest car too much money can buy, the new sixth generation F30 3 Series - launched this week in Barcelona - simply must not fail.BMW's people puckishly predict it will propel the 36-year-old model name back to number one in our part of the planet. If what they insist on calling "sheer driving pleasure" means a scintilla to prestige punters, it could do it by the width of its fat torque band.VALUEWe can talk more intelligently of this in February  when the first three of four  new 3 Series models is released hereabouts. Initially it's sedans only, wagons being possibly a year away.The diesel 320d starts the lineup followed by the 328i with the all-new M20 direct injection turbo petrol four, to replace much loved but now obsolete 325i, the range topped by the 335i turbo six. The entry 320i is about eight months off. This, we wager heavily, will be worth the wait.Prices will be up slightly on their current equivalents, but, we're credibly promised, with appreciably more fruit standard. There's three major equipment lines: Sport, Modern and Luxury, with M Sport to come shortly thereafter. Of these Modern is the "newest" with the most distinctive interior accents and trim. Essentially Sport means 18s, bright stitching, tauter suspension and glossy black bits. Luxury means more chrome.All models cop stop/start and Driving Experience Control, which enables you to switch  ride comfort and throttle response between relaxed and alert. Eco Pro, which runs leanest, is standard in this set-up. Only Sport Plus mode, which disdains the electronic safety net, is optional.But, as we say, hold your naturally aspirated breathe for the 320i, which deploys a milder version of the 328i's twin scroll turbo power plant. Based on two days with the new 5 Series variant that uses this same engine tune, the entry car  will not only be leagues of magnitude ahead of the outgoing sluggard, but the sweet spot of the range.TECHNOLOGYMany will lament the passing of free-breathing sixes in this now all-turbo and all eight-speed auto line-up. But then -- some pine for spats and fedora hats.Sorry, but the direct-injection twin-scroll turbocharged M20 four-cylinder is a stunner, a big torquing yet revin' to seven device with an output surpassing the fabled 3.0-litre six, all of which is made accessible by that brilliantly intuitive auto. Which is well, given manuals will not be offered except by special order. You can lament that too, but you'll be the only one.While standard kit is better than on the outgoing car, it wouldn't be a Bimmer if there wasn't a plethora of options. Of these, Variable Sports Steering - a genuinely useful ratio quickener, unlike Active Steering - is enjoyable but not essential. The full-colour head-up display  is, once used, hard to do without. We'd tick that box. Lane-departure-warning should be mandatory in this land where those sufficiently stupid to text while driving are permitted to hold licenses.DESIGNBetter. Much better, if a little too like the big brother 5 Series. Yet this isn't inapt given the 3 Series of today approaches the size of a Fiver of a decade ago.The 3's not been pretty per se since the E46 of 1998 vintage, but this one is a step in the right direction. With the trademark accents in place, it really couldn't be anything else.Within, the 3's moved miles ahead on the outgoing device. Austerity is out, enhanced opulence is in. BMW has emerged its cars aren't owned by androids so there's even space in the door bins. While those up front are esconsed in a cockpit, rear seat passengers breath easy, so long as there's two, not three. That said the finish in our pre-production Sport wasn't perfect.SAFETYVast claims are being made by the maker, such as this is safest car in the history of its class. Suffice to say that five crash stars will follow and the formidable battery of active and passive life saving measures is in place - not the least of which is superbly responsive yet forgiving dynamics.As ever, however, a Carsguide half star is lost to the absence of a spare tyre. Yep, ran flats  are all very well, but just try copping one out back of the black stump and see where that gets you. Nowhere in a hurry is where. In a car that screams to be driven far and wide this just doesn't play.DRIVINGYou could drive the 328i tomorrow, having never set a foot on a BMW pedal and you would feel instantly at home. Everything is weighted and positioned just as it should be.You could, like me, have driven every minor variant of every 3 Series of the past two generations and more besides, and feel immediately that the new 328i advances the game. It fits either of you like a chamois glove.This is the genius of the 3 Series. It flatters the absolute beginner and enables the enthusiast. Throttle, brakes, steering - all are just ... well, just so. We loved the old sixes, we love manuals but we wouldn't swap this drivetrain. Capably amiable in milder modes, a weapon when the wick is lit, it comes close to being all things to all people.With uber-direct steering - some 2.2 turns lock to lock - through front wheels unburdened by the task of driving, this remains a completely intuitive handler, incredibly adept when pushing hard through a mountain pass and hugely adjustable and forgiving of even ham-fisted corrections.All torque kicks in from just above 1000rpm and it revs cleanly to 7000. It is a device that's  thoroughly efficient grinding through the suburbs and wonderfully satisfying when the opportunity arises. In sport mode throttle response is enlivened and feel through the wheel tautens, yet comfort mode is more than adequate for 90 per of likely regular going. Ride on Catalonia's smooth rides was excellent even with optional skinny 19-inch rubber - you'd stick to 17s on our battered bitumen.Indeed you needn't gild this lily  with bling and extras. The 328's brilliance is in its driving  essence.VERDICTGod, it's good. If driving a prestige car means half as much to you as owning one, then you have to try this.RATINGBMW 328iPrice: $68,000 (estimate)Warranty: three years/100,000kmResale: 65 per centService interval: 15,000km/12 monthsEngine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol; 180kW/350NmBody: four doors, five seatsDimensions: 4624mm (L) 1811 (w) 1429 (h) 2810 (wb)Weight: 1430kgTransmission: eight-speed automatic; RWDEconomy: 6.4L/100km; 147g C02/km"The one for drivers and badge collectors alike. But wait for the base car if you can."OTHERS TO CONSIDERAUDI A4 2.0TRating: 3.5 out of 5 starsPrice: $58,900Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol four; 132kW/320NmTransmission: CVT auto; FWDThirst: 7.1L/100km; 154g C02/km“Quattro costs extra, so why not look at the cheaper base 1.8?”MERCEDES-BENZ C250Rating: 4.5 out of 5 starsPrice: $65,900Engine: 1.8-litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol four; 150kW/310NmTransmission: 7-speed auto; RWDThirst: 7.2L/100km; 167g km"Exceptional. The  one BMW has to beat”VOLVO S60 T5 GDTIRating: 3.5 out of 5 starsPrice: $51,950Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol four; 177kW/320NmTransmission: 6-speed twin clutch auto; FWDThirst: 8.3L/100km; 193g C02/km“T5 has four cylinders, so does the T4, just a smaller capacity. Try that first”

The inevitable move -- the first time in its 35-year history here without a self-shifter -- comes as demand for new three pedal cars falls to zero, according to BMW Australia. "There is absolutely no demand, we sell no manuals at all," spokesman Piers Scott says. "A manual could be had via special order but it won't appear on the price list." The all-auto, all turbo-charged South African-built line-up reaches local showrooms in February with pricing likely  to be slightly higher than the outgoing range, but with appreciably more standard kit. The diesel 320d is the entry level car until the arrival of the 320i about six months later. This uses a detained version of the new N20 2.0-litre turbo petrol four, seen to full effect in the 328i, which makes obsolete the long-serving 2.5 inline six. Three main packages - Modern, Luxury and Sport - are offered. Standard fixtures include the first eight-speed automatic in the class, stop start, Driving Experience Control with eco mode' which is claimed to reduce fuel consumption by some 20 per cent. The packaging resembles those of Mercedes-Benz's Prestige and Avatgarde. "We're building in a lot more value, like the 1 Series," Scott says. "We're preparing for Sport to have the greatest demand, though the Modern is probably the newest departure. It has some new and interesting trim levels." The entry 320i, which does not arrive until mid-2012 at the earliest, competes the four model lineup. Apart wagons, which arrive early in 2013, BMW is not seeking niche models such as the six cylinder diesel 330d. A hybrid is out of the picture, with no plans to build in right hand drive. Even then, Scott says, it will hardly be an "enormous seller". The current M3, certain to be last non-turbo model, survives until 2014 when it's replacement is due. The widely reported assertion that the next generation of 3 Series derived coupes and convertibles will be labelled 4 Series is by no means confirmed, although Scott says "yes, there are some unused numbers in our line-up".