Articles by Paul Pottinger

Just as production of the Cruze small four door gets under way in Adelaide, GM plans to release the images of the car that will sit between it and the Commodore ahead of its global reveal.Online fans will be among the first to glimpse the all-new mid-sized sedan when Holden’s sister brand, Chevrolet, unveils the Malibu on Facebook on Monday 18 April.  The Malibu Facebook reveal will be timed to coincide with the sedan’s public debut at Shanghai Auto Show on Tuesday 19 April.Holden will bring the Malibu nameplate to Australia for the first time in 2012 with a line-up of four-cylinder engines.  Holden Chairman and Managing Director Mike Devereux said the Chevrolet Malibu gave an indication of what to expect from Holden when it launched its version of the next-generation mid-sized sedan.“The Malibu will play an important role within the Holden line-up, providing a spacious and efficient four-cylinder alternative for Australian customers,” Mr Devereux said.“Malibu will bridge the gap between our incredibly successful Cruze small car and Australia’s favourite car, the best-selling Commodore.“It will be a standout on the road, with striking styling in the same vein as recent additions to the GM portfolio, including the new-generation Barina and Cruze hatch.  Like the Holden Cruze, Malibu will surprise customers with its array of clever technologies and features.Malibu will be the first Chevrolet mid-sized vehicle designed for the global market and will be sold in up to 100 countries around the world, including markets in Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa.Chevrolet will reveal the Malibu and host a live chat session on Facebook at 8:30pm EDT Monday 18 April (10:30am EST on Tuesday 19 April) at http://www.facebook.com/chevroletTwitter: #maliburevealThe Chevrolet Malibu will also appear at the New York International Auto Show between 23 April and 1 May.

Welcome to the most pointless new passenger vehicle of 2011.There's really no need for Mercedes-Benz's G-Class. It's unique in the Tristar range but also anomalous. It's an immensely capable off-roader but few will leave the boulevard, least of all those AMG's on grotesque after market wheels that will in turn render intolerable a cruising ride that's already poor.Merc won't even sell many.And yet ... G's will be treasured for a design that defines unique and, most of all, for being a resounding declaration of difference, one that states: "I can afford to look this weird and not care what you think."So maybe the point is that there is no point.VALUESee above. For the record, the G350 with its clever so-called BlueTEC diesel starts from $161,680 and the G55 AMG with its stunning 5.5-litre supercharged petrol V8, from $217,230. Daft but the 40 who have made deposits, mostly for the AMG, are untroubled.TECHNOLOGYThe G350's so-called BlueTEC's catalytic converter uses the urea liquid AdBlue for exhaust gas after treatment. It can be added externally via a funnel by the fuel tank's outlet. Extra stiff shocks are used to deal with massive output of the roaring 5.5-litre V8 of the AMG.Both models have a system of three lockable differentials and a low range capacity for shinnying up slopes. Permanent all-wheel-drive defaults the torque 50:50 to each axle. Ball steering is set heavier than a compact SUV to overcome kickback.The G350 runs Merc's excellent seven speed auto; the AMG takes a five to handle its mad 700Nm.SAFETYPermanent all-wheel-drive, massive brakes, a very adroit stability program of airbags should ensure a five star crash rating.DESIGNThe G is Merc's oldest continually produced model. More remarkable is that its exterior has barely altered in 32 years; it remains the same conglomeration of squares and rectangles, relieved only by the wheels and headlights, though even these are in four-sided housings.The windscreen is vertical and this is the only Benz with the spare mounted on the back. The utilitarian theme continues within. Despite the expected luxury embellishments, the G is all too clearly derived from a 4WD designed to climb Alps or, as its military spec versions are doing even now, patrolling the streets of Kabul.It looks and feels old and uncomfortably upright. Not a lot of of room in there for something so imposing without. In the back three big blokes have Buckley's and the one in the middle will feel he's drawn a very short straw.Not great in front either. Seats adjust only so far and the driver is afflicted by a brake pedal placed so awkwardly high that smooth progress is a challenge.But, hey, people will see you, right?DRIVINGNever imagined I'd use a Mercedes-Benz to clamber up an almost 80 per cent incline on a Tasmanian track so eroded and busted up that any self-respecting mule would call HR.Mules, however, lack 540Nm, low range gearing and a set of seemingly infallible differentials. Even I, whose offroading ability is zero, can't go wrong with moderate steering and accelerator inputs.Hugely impressive as the ability to make a mountain the merest molehill may be, you might not enjoy driving between peaks. The AMG's regular road ride is pretty awful, unsettled, unresolved and borderline uncivilised.But it is acceleratively stunning, its rousing bent eight in need of no tunnel to resonate as it gets the big crate from standing to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds – a speed you'll be rapidly retarding as corners loom to avoid that top heavy “here we go” sensation.The diesel is the better of the two on the black top, but is an oiler soundtrack the accompaniment that's going to suit boulevard rather than bush bashing?VERDICTThe Merc you never knew the world needed.MERCEDES-BENZ G-CLASSPrice: $161,680 (diesel); $217,230 (AMG)Engines: 3.0-litre turbo diesel (155kW/540Nm); 5.5-litre supercharged V8 petrol (373kW/700Nm)Transmissions: 7-speed auto (diesel); 5-speed auto (AMG)Thirst: 11.2L/100km (diesel); 15.9L/100km AMG

Mercedes Boss Horst Von Sanden conceded the point at the launch this week of the G-Class, an expensive cult off-roader that has not been released in Australia since the 1980s.  Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}   Last month Audi outsold Mercedes-Benz for the first time, though by a narrow margin – 1459 to 1433. BMW languished on 1211 sales.Despite Audi having no commercial vehicle line-up, its Q5 compact SUV was particularly strong in a growth segment. Benz’s comparable GLK is made only in left hand drive.“I have never made it a secret that I want the GLK here,” von Sanden says. “We cannot get it during this model’s life. It is at least three years to the next generation model.  “It drives me crazy.”Asked if this omission would continue to cost the Tristar brand its place at the head of the prestige pack, von Sanden says: “We are not focussed on that. We have our own internal targets and these are very strict.”But with a heavy year of new model launches and facelifts for Mercedes, Audi’s stay at the top is likely to be brief.The renewed C-Class sedan and wagon is due in June with the new C-Class coupe and AMG versions of each. There will also be a new SLK roadster, CLS, an AMG E-Class and Viano van.The G-Class, as von Sanden cheerfully admits, will not add much to this roster.  The hardcore off-roader starts from $161,800 for the G350 BlueTEC diesel and $217,230 for the G55 AMG with its roaring 5.5-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine.Though it is the brand’s longest continuously produced model, all of 32 years, it has not been available new in this country for most of its life except for private importations.Von Sanden says the model’s reintroduction is made possible on the back of the Australian Defence Force’s mass order of Mercedes military vehicles and by his own nostalgic enthusiasm.“Increasingly people are drawn to niche models, something that defines them and makes them stand out,” he says. “I am driving a G350 at the moment.  “The looks it is getting from young people …”

This is not so much the best hot hatch for anything like the money as something that stands the hot hatch category on its head, shakes out its pockets and shoots through with its keys. Everything comparable is over priced or too polite.A hot hatch is traditionally a top line but still relatively affordable model, one that is essentially a tooled up version of a humbler shopping trolley. And yes, the stunning RS 250 is derived from Renault's modest Megane (a car with much to be modest about).It has, however, as much commonality with its parts donor as a sub-machine gun with a musket.VALUEIf performance were the sole measure, we'd be moving on straight away, attaining 100km/h all of 6.1 seconds after we'd started (about the time taken to recite in full the model's name). Pace, as we'll see, is not even half the story.In tangible and tactile terms, the Cup edition gets sports seats, leather steering wheel and matching gearknob, carbon-fibre-effect dash, onboard telemetry via the Renault Sport Monitor and a Power Start feature that controls wheelspin under flat-out acceleration.The (even) more track-focused Cup Trophy gets rear seat space eating Recaro thrones, tyre pressure monitoring, folding mirror, smart card key with neat its hands-free entry and engine start functions, Bluetooth, iPOD audio streaming, dual zone climate control, RS Monitor Display and entirely necessary rear parking sensors.There's also optional 19s with smoky alloys. Go on. You know you want to.TECHNOLOGYMulti-stage electronic stability program allows increasing degrees of freedom, though as is true of the whole construct, you really want a racetrack to play with it. Engaging its Sport setting in turn allows access to the torque regulator's Sport and Extreme mode via the stalk mounted "mouse".No gimmick these. All are genuinely distinctive and useful, though you're almost always going to choose Linear in urban running and Sport whenever circumstances permit impactful acceleration.For all the plethora of info charted through the centre console - G-Forces, lap times, gear shift alert warnings - it's the 250's tried and true tech that most manifests itself. That's a mechanical limited slip differential up front - as opposed to an electronic approximation (a la Golf GTI) - and a rear torsion bar. The suspension is bespoke, lowered and tautened.SAFETYObserve, as if you could avoid seeing them, the immense, bright red Brembo four-piston brake callipers gripping huge 340mm ventilated disc rotors on the front wheels and solid 290mm jobs at the back.There's seatbelt warning lights for all five seats (though how you can hardly be unaware of the bright yellow straps), tyre pressure monitoring, bi-Xenon directional headlamps, auto headlamp activation, auto windscreen-wiper activation, cruise control, speed limiter, ESP with understeer control and emergency brake assist. The spare's a 17-incher.DESIGNAs the danger of going over the top loomed, Renault's designers applied the Brembos hard, leaving the 250 teetering on the brink of the overly stylised. Make of it what you will it is distinctive and, in a dark metallic as opposed to signature yellow, faintly menacing - all flared wheel arches, sharp creases and day time running lights that, somehow, appear reptilian.Opening the door is to appreciate the most obvious connection to the (much) lesser Megane, though the impression is rapidly overwhelmed by the racing accents: Recaros, yellow rev counter, a highly adjustable full grain leather steering wheel and aluminium pedals (and footrest - merci for that small mercy).DRIVINGWhen the 250 ceases to affect you, you're either hopelessly blasé or in need of rehab. It's an adult dose.Blast off from standing. There's minor but discernable hesitation, then an avalanche of torque and some amiable jiggling through the wheel. It doesn't come on as fluidly as we've come to expect from the direct injected turbo fours like the Golfs GTI and R; more in the manner of a jab to the solar plexus.Raw acceleration numbers are bested by others listed here, but in the French car the process feels more, shall we say, outré? That would be meaningless if it wasn't carried so utterly ably when the road ceases to be straight.This is where the 250 departs from the pack, holding the chosen line with amazing tenacity and an equally eye-widening absence of body roll or understeer. I'm reduced to the cliché that it corners as though on rails. If you remain convinced a front wheel drive hottie cannot be gratifying, here's one you must try.Can this be electric steering? There's another preconception with which we can dispense; this is completely linear, amply informative.Even for a practised but middling driver, such as me, on public roads, the 250 is a joyous thing, an almost unrecognisably enhanced shopping device perhaps, but one surely capable in more assured hands than mine (and on a race track) of undoing high end performance machines for which made sums are demanded.Yet in urban surrounds, Frenchie is almost urbane, acceptably firm but not skittish. With torque delivery dialled down you can negotiate car parks just as adeptly as a quiet B-road cutting. Not perfect perhaps, but, pound for pound, perilously close.VERDICTThe hot hatch to have; a joyous giant slayer.

... according to the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce. While much would-be fraud is the obvious work of amateurs, such schemes are gaining in frequency and sophistcation,  says Peter Kell, Deputy Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Chairman of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce. Carsguide has joined forces with ACFT, a group of 21 Australian and New Zealand government agencies, to raise awareness of online fraud during National Consumer Fraud Week, which starts Monday. Backed by more than 120 metropolitan, suburban and regional News Limited newspapers, Carsguide is Australia's biggest automotive brand. "Online Safety is an issue Carsguide takes extremely seriously," Carsguide publisher Sue Klose says. "We are constantly working with our online counterparts and government agencies to combat this industry issue. By partnering with the Consumer Fraud Taskforce, we aim to help educate and empower people with practical tools and information so they can buy and sell online with confidence. Carsguide's Safety Centre at Carsguide.com.au features a very useful guide to help protect users against fraud and enable them to buy and sell with confidence." On the frontline Clarissa Pitsikas, the scourge of the few frauds foolish enough to try it on the Carsguide website. Clarissa personally verifies 30 to 40 online advertisements from buyers each day and advises Carsguide customers who call with examples of email inquiries they suspect. "Usually I can tell simply by looking at the wording. They tend to be very similar," she says. They say 'I'm overseas', 'I'm buying this for my father-in-law', they want to pay through PayPal or Western Union. Anyone wanting to buy sight unseen, forget about it." She has a bulging folder of banned internet addresses and suspect advertisers. One of her favourites is this response to an ad for Peugeot 407, grammar preserved: "i want to buy this car but i am not in Australia right now because i went to France to go and Finish the divorce of me and my Husband over there But we are not yet through on this,While doing this the court have Frozen our account because when we are together we are using the same account so now i don't have Chance to transfer money from the account even can't be able to come to see the car.But the only way i can make this payment about this car is to pay you by Pay Pal" Yeah, right ... Call Clarissa with one of these and its scrubbed on the spot. Equally, suspect sellers get the third degree. "If it looks legitimate I call every single caller to verify every single detail," she says. "If they don't add up, I cancel their ad. I check addresses and numbers on Google and White Pages. If it's an invalid address, phone number or the car is suspiciously under market value I cancel it. "If there's is an inconsistency I call and email asking they call back. Nine times out of 10 they don't, so I cancel the ad. If they can't verify the registration number, email address, colour of the car, it's a giveaway. A few have tried to bribe me. 'If you let it run for week. I'll pay you this much ...' I just put the phone straight down." The ACCC's SCAMwatch website contains detailed information about how consumers can protect themselves from online and other types of scams. Visit www.scamwatch.gov.au or call 1300 795 995. Carsguide is a 2011 Principal Partner of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce.

In February's sales results released this morning, the small hatch and sedan range from Hiroshima placed behind Holden's Commodore. But while the latter is hugely reliant on fleet sales, people spending their own dollars saw the Mazda sell only 254 units less. Spurred by a $21,990 driveway deal for its entry level Neo, the Mazda3 - which has no fleet fat in its sales figure - easily outsold its direct rivals, Toyota's Corolla and Holden's Cruze. These strong "real money" sales, as opposed to cut price deals for fleets, means private buyers make up the greatest portion of February's 80,896. Private money accounted 39,776 sales, about 1000 more than business, government and rental fleets combined. This is considered highly unusual for the month in which fleet sales usually rebound after the traditionally quiet January. And this is bad news indeed for the Ford's struggling Falcon, which climbed back into the top 10 after its unprecedentedly poor 13th placing in January but could manage only 1572 sales. By polar contrast, the Commodore scored 3,829, again small-medium four cylinder imports dominated the top 20 models, which good news for Holden, whose Cruze has began local production, but hard lines for Ford, whose new Focus does not reach Australia until the third quarter of this year. "This is a solid result reflecting the strong underlying demand for new vehicles," says Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Andrew McKellar. “Sales to private customers increased 4.1 per cent during February. This is an encouraging indicator of the market and reflects a strong level of economic confidence." FEBRUARY'S TOP SELLING MODELS 1 Holden Commodore 3,8292 Mazda3 3,5753 Toyota Hilux 2,8924 Hyundai i30 2,6545 Toyota Corolla 2,6006 Holden Cruze 2,5827 Nissan Navara 2,2078 Ford Falcon 1,5729 Mazda2 1,57210 Mitsubishi Lancer 1,56111 Toyota Camry 1,53312 Mitsubishi Triton 1,50713 Hyundai Getz 1,45614 Toyota Yaris 1,375115 Subaru Impreza 1,32016 Subaru Forester 1,22117 Toyota Prado 1,21518 Volkswagen Golf 1,21519 Ford Ranger 1,20820 Ford Fiesta 1,160TOP 10 BRANDSToyota        29,421Holden       18,699Mazda        14,844Ford           14,015Hyundai      13,017Nissan        10,469Mitsubishi    9,655Subaru          6,830Volkswagen      5530Honda            4812

The Yanks love Hyundai's largish mid-size, front-wheel-drive sedan. Can't get enough of it. As though to emulate that noted silvery shower TV ad, they've deluged the i45 with awards. They might even have given that ad an award.And why not? The thing's made mainly for the US. Yet Australia's auto media have damned the i45 with praise only for its fit, finish and value for money. Are our nations so very different? And if so, why?Firstly it's essential to understand that American-made cars have been, by and large, rubbish. So their basis for comparison is wanting.Secondly, Australia's car makers, whatever their many faults, know how to make devices for our third world road surfaces and for drivers who don't consider having to move the steering wheel a violation of human rights. Our expectations are accordingly different.Released almost 12 months ago, the i45 was derided for its rolling, aquatic ride and feel-free steering. For being such a slovenly Yank, basically. So strident was the criticism, Hyundai went back to address a few fundamentals.So here the i45 is again. Is it better?This part of the song remains the same, which is as it should be. Value for money was never in question. The entry-level Active starts from $31,090. Actually there's a sub-$30K model, but that has a manual transmission so who are we kidding? The Elite is $34,590, the Premium $38,990.As you'd expect from Hyundai, equipment levels are high throughout. Leather upholstery kicks on on the Elite, heated front seats are standard on the Premium as is sat nav with Bluetooth. The latter are optional on the other models.Mitsubishi is the only Japanese car maker to approach the Hyundai's and Kia's five year unlimited kilometre warranty.The responsive 2.4-cylinder direct injection petrol four remains, as does its fairly happy marriage to a six-speed automatic. What's new, Hyundai say, is stiffness. The front springs are 15 per cent stiffer, the rears six per cent. These are to address the i45's tendency to pitch and roll like a trawler in an Atlantic gale.  There are thicker stabiliser bars. These are to  reduce the i45's penchant for understeering like a shopping trolley with a bung wheel. The selective dampers have been fiddled with on the Premium model and introduced the Active and Elite. These are to contrive a ride/handling compromise that feels less like floundering in the middle of a sagging water bed.Additional sound deadening material has been added to reduce NVH and boost refinement levels.All present and correct. Five crash safety stars from ANCAP and a full size spare in the boot.A blessing and a curse, in that its swooping Merc CLS-like lines got punters all excited, and so made driving the thing feel even more of a bummer. Even so, the i45's is a wholly successful look, surely the model that dispels any lingering memory of Hyundai's driveaway then chuckaway days.At 4.8 metres by 1.8 and nearly a metre-and-a-half high it should be capacious enough for anyone. The boot's a big Staryan car size 523 litres. In short, it's big.Within, the driver's workstation of our Elite model is first rate. Crisply displayed instruments glow blue with lights on. There's masses of storage and the plastics could come from a more expensive car. So relaxing and comfortable are the front thrones, you tend not to mind that the parking brake is foot activated.Hey, if it's good enough for Mercedes-Benz ...Oh dear ...The i45 is benchmarked, Hyundai say, against the Camry and the Accord, as opposed to the Mazda6 and Accord Euro. You can sneer at it for not being among the latter, but you might as well decry a nice cup of milky tea for not being a double shot espresso.This would be just fine except the i45's neither.It's one thing being disconcertingly unresolved above what some are pleased to talk of as “sixth tenths” in same breath as “public roads”; no-one is in this showroom for a sports sedan. It's quite another that the ride is neither controlled nor cosseting.If the i45 doesn't corner with confidence, it doesn't cruise in comfort; floating with any sort of pace and fidgeting maddeningly at low speed while the steering's feel is ... well, it hasn't any. Except when a mid-corner bump is hit. It conveys those all too effectively. The best that can be said for the stability program is it's not apt to intervene hastily.Progress is not helped by the 17-inch Kuhmo tyres of our Elite. These make far too much noise, roaring on the tarmac and screeching at the least provocation without the consolation of grip on last week's newly wet roads.Against that, the DI petrol four is a willing, responsive if slightly raucous unit that makes light of the 1528kg kerb weight. It's union with the six-speed auto is the soul dynamic highlight.Not in an Australian accent.

... that one of a soon to be released car that can be flogged to newspapers, magazines and websites around the world. That's where European car makers are to be found at this time of year, renting entire villages by frozen lakes, to winter test their forthcoming wares. So that's where the men with massive lenses and an addict's need to get the scoop go. Their images and videos appear most weeks in News Ltd papers and sites under the byline Carparazzi. Under other monikers they appear in most auto publications. Having bought out the pioneering carparazzo Hans Lehmann, if it's a European carmaker whose vehicle you see in black masking or zebra camouflage, it's likely been taken by a Wulff man. A pay-off for risking hypothermia in the Arctic is that by this stage of development, the car bras are often off.  "A dozer comes out and makes a narrow track with the snow piled up so it's hard to see," Wulff says. "In the night you tunnel into the snow, come up by the track so you've got a little hole. They're p****** by. They don't see you. We click them."  Sounds dicey. "Why? It's very easy," the rangy, rawboned Dane scoffs. "It's frost snow. Doesn't matter if it collapses."  Literally sticking your neck out for picture of a car is tame stuff  for Wulff. Now 65 and looking a decade younger, he'd lived a book full of the wildest, boy's own adventures before he stopped shooting animals with his beloved .243 rifle (including bagging buffaloes for burgers in the Top End) and started shooting cars with a camera. He's relating all this in plus 30 centigrade Sydney where he's drumming up a bit of business. It's a town familiar from countless visits since the former Danish special forces operator fuirst came to this part of the world in the late '60s. "I hardly ever shoot now, I'm the bullshit artist," Wulff says, but tellingly his camera and snapper's vest are atop his open suitcase. "Yeah, I always carry my camera." His biography  Freddy Wulff : Danmarks vildeste eventyrer  might be in Danish, but the images transend the barrier between our closely related languages. "I got adopted into a head hunter tribe in Borneo. This," Wulff says baring his left pectoral, "is a centipede. It took a whole day to do that little s***. The colour is soot from a chimney with water done with a bamboo spike. And flicking through the book: "This is catching a snake down in Panama. It killed about 500 people a year and they had no antidote, so I went down there with a Mexican scientist to catch and milk one for an antidote. "This is living in a village in northern Mexico. They roasted rats. Tasted pretty good. This is where we got dropped on an island near Tonga to see if you could live for two weeks like Robinson Caruso. Here's I'm hunting manta ray in the Timor See (diving into the open water naked but for a loincloth and spear). "Oh, and here is my first Ford Falcon ..." He's also been shot himself, by insurgents on the Thai border, and mauled by a boar in New Zealand. A pretty "vilde" ride.  Wulff's completing another book on professional hunting around the world. It's not such a segue into the stalking cars; from the click-bang of his .243 to the click-click of a shutter. His scoops are as geographically diverse as his hunting trophies, such as finding Volkswagen had built a test track in Greenland, where Wulff had just happened to serve as a liaison with the US Air Force. "It didn't function very long because it's a dangerous place," he says. "I called a couple people I know unloading at the airport. We go and get the new (then Mark IV) Golf, which is the most expensive picture, the best for us to get. A photo like that you go to the German car magazines as say `you have the rights for three days, 30,000 euros'.'Even in south west Africa, VW couldn't escape the Wulff pack.  "They got a test track in Namibia. It's like a prison camp. Guard towers. Six metre fences to keep the wildlife out. Inside there's a track and a rake six metres wide. I thought about pole vaulting it. Too wide. "But we get them in an ultra light aircraft before the sun comes up. You go up, up, up until you don't go any further but they got a great gliding effect. At first light the cars come out, and you come down 'Good morning  click, click, click, click'. It's fun."Only New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground has foiled him: "I never got in there." Like seasoned hunters, carparazzo know where to be and when. If car companies have not become cooperative as such, they are at least tolerant. It wasn't always so, as Wulff says of a certain German manufacturer. "They were not a nice crew. When they saw us they stopped and got hold of one of the guys, smashed his camera, all kinds of s***t ... They didn't see the other photographer. So we sent their photos to the managing director of the company. They didn't answer. So I flew down, laid the photos out in front of the company public relations department. "You will replace the camera and you will pay him him some money or these will be in Auto Bild in two days.' The photographer had a holiday in Hawaii."  Now they are the nicest people."

Incredible. Some of us have been carping for years that the very notion of "prestige" badges is not only obsolete but actually quite fatuous. But would anyone listen?  Then BMW proves it with one of their very own models.VALUEBMW want $82,300 for their entry-level 5 Series sedan, the 520d with its very good four cylinder turbo diesel. Says it all for the obscenely inflated prices Australians pay for prestige cars that this seems almost acceptable.  The Touring (that's wagon to us) is $92,800. Uh, sorry?An almost $10K premium for the slightly more practical yet far heavier and, it must be said, daggier version. Oh, plus almost eight grand "dealer and statutory charges" and you're at $100,000 before so much as opening the encyclopedic options list. Six figures for what is, I'm sorry, a superannuated family jigger.Hey, if you've got the wherewithal, go for it. If you haven't and you must have it, by all means hock an organ or two. But paid in one dump or spread over a lease, if you're ready to drop 100 big ones on a station wagon with a four pot oiler then you've more cash than cranial filling.This is where the "prestige" thing  whether it's a blue and white badge, a tristar or four rings  looks puerile, especially when "lesser" Europeans such as the Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Passat or Citroen C5 come in wagon versions every bit as nice to sit in with diesels as good at up to $50,000 cheaper.TECHNOLOGYBMW's flacks are telling everyone who'll listen that twin-clutch automatics, such as those used in Audis and Mercedes-Benz, are a self-shifting cul-de-sac. Nein, ever more sophisticated versions of the old style torque converter auto are the go.It is, of course, merely coincidental that BMW have imbued the latest 5 Series with a new eight-speed auto. As to what this suggests for the excellent twin-clutch units in the M3 and 335i coupe, they have yet to say.That's not a misprint by the way. It does indeed say "eight" speed. Why? Because Mercedes use a seven speed. Say what they will, this is one upmanship, pure and simple.I not long ago asked engineering guru Graeme Gambold how many forward gears you really need in an automatic. He reckons five. Six is nice.In terms of other tech, the heads-up display (a holographic speedo and sat-nav director projected at the driver's eyeline in the window just above the steering wheel), is an oustanding example of form meeting function. It also happens to be standard, as are adaptive headlights, parking assistance, iPhone and iPod Integration, optional Bluetooth internet on the wide-screen navigation system.DESIGNHey, honey I've pimped the wagon.  What's the last thing you'd do to a stolid, dignified and above all four cylinder diesel family car? That's right; stick a sports kit on it.A redeeming feature of the previous generation 520d was its 16-inch conventional tyres. The M-Sports kit of our test car adds 18-inch run flats and lowered suspension; precisely what you wouldn't be looking for in this variant. It also adds several more grand.Access to the load space, the reason you are paying up from the four door, is a clever split tailgate in which the top glass half can open remotely with the keyfob and the cargo cover folds back electronically. Good room within, the 560 litres cargo storage becoming 1670 with the rear seats folded almost flat.There are various semi-up-down configurations.  Unlike the previous Chris Bangle-designed 5 Series, BMW has acknowledged it is driven by (high) paying customers, as opposed to political prisoners whose possessions have been confiscated and identities erased. Glory be, there are storage spaces for phones and stuff.What was an austere, borderline unpleasant cabin, is now aptly lush with front pews that are beautifully accommodating though not especially supportive when the steering wheel is turned hard.SAFETYIt's all there, as it should be. Five star safety with a full outfit of active and passive injury prevention.  No spare tyre, though unlike Volvo's S60, there are at least run flats on which you have a hope of making civilisation in the event of a puncture. But if you're distant from the metropolis it's anyone's guess whether the tyre store (a) is open and (b) stocks compatible rubber.DRIVINGBMW either don't know who the 5 Series is for any more or they want a bet each way. They're after easy riding E-Class patrons, but in order not to alienate those who buy into the "ultimate driving experience", a plethora of settings to alter the ride, throttle response and steering can be had. At least these annoyances were absent in our test car.While I was among the few participants in Carsguide's 2010 Car of the Year judging who disliked the 535i sedan for more than its hilarious $135K price tag, I was but one of the 10 present who loved Skoda's clever and ample Superb Elegance TDI.It mattered not a lick that the latter does its steering and driving at the front end and BMW sticks with rear wheel drive purity (at least for the foreseeable future). It matters a sight less in the 520d.These are  repeat  diesel family buses and this is Australia, land of the unmarked speed camera and the third rate road surface. The BMW's rear wheel advantage asserts itself mainly in terms of a smaller turning circle.Interestingly that octo-auto can't mask obvious lag when the 1715kg wagon is prodded off the mark. At CCOTY, no one complained about the Skoda's twin clutch six speed DSG.VERDICTBuy two cars instead or one and save 50 grand. 60/100

There's a saying around here (well, someone has to start these things): "If you have less than $30K to spend on a hatch, get a Mazda 3. If you have more, get a Golf."Within an hour of clambering out of an entry level Mazda3 Neo last week, we were into the new starting point for VW's perennial five door, one with an asking price that's barely above a Polo. Indeed, the 77TSI (the numeral indicating output in kilowatts) is donated from the 2010 Carsguide Car of the Year winner.So can this Golf change the order of things?VALUELooks good on the lid, eh?A new Golf has never played at this price level. As recently as 2005 the then-new entry level Mark V (which substantially is this Mark VI) ran a weak, old 1.6 naturally aspirated auto petrol four with a five speed manual and rejoiced in a $27K asking price plus on roads.This entrant $22,990 for the six-speed manual, $24,490 for the seven-speed DSG twin clutch auto, either of which are  married to an above its capacity punching 1.2-litre turbo petrol four.The Golf is appreciably bigger, a few hundred kegs heavier, but only a second slower and a few hundred bucks dearer than the little wonder. Our test car, with DSG ($2500) and metallic paint ($500) was $24,990. Cool.Now let's peel back the lid.While the Golf provides a sense of prestige German quality at a fraction of the cost, its servicing and parts are very much in keeping with those of a premium badge. In this respect, VW take the piss. An example? A new battery can cost twice as much as one fitted by your auto club.And even if the inside of the fuel cap reads 95 RON, VW's excellent direct injection/turbo-charged engines prefer and return their best economy and emission figures with nothing less than 98. Almost all its rivals are happy enough on basic unleaded.TECHNOLOGYUnlike its Asian rivals, each $3000-$4000 increment you spend on a Golf brings not only more bling, but an upgraded four cylinder turbo charged engine with direct injection. The now-previously entry level runs a 1.4-litre 90kW/200Nm jobbie. The next one up has the clever 1.4 supercharged and turbo charged unit with 118kW/240Nm. Then you're into GTI and R terrain.On paper this one's 77kW/175Nm and 1.2-litre capacity looks almost as weedy as that of a Barina Spark, arguably the lamest car on sale today. But by virtue of the aforementioned low pressure blowing and the squirting of high octane juice directly into the combustion chambers, the 77TSI easily outperforms that old 1.6 auto.A 0-100km/h time of 10.6 seconds (or so it's claimed) is unspectacular, but with all the torque on tap from as low as 1550rpm, the mid-range shove is like that of diesel. Capable of running on 6.2 litres per 100km while emitting 144 grams of Co2 per klick, you might wonder if the clatter and drone of a diesel donk is worthwhile.DESIGNLet others flirt with groovy visual gambits, a Golf is always a Golf. Inter generational changes are always evolutionary rather than revolutionary, as car companies say when they're on a good thing and are too smart to stuff it about.The wagen is what it is and der volk keep buying it.While even in GTI's interior is hardly festive this one is crushingly grey and depressing, with every appearance of being consciously stripped back in order to encourage up-optioning, or better still, up-modelling to a 90TSI.It's a dead zone, especially next to the innards of a Mazda3 Neo which looks a lot more handsome from behind the wheel than is suggested by its $23K sticker. It's been a long time since I saw a new car steering wheel without so much as a volume control on the steering wheel. This Golf's was nude. Both cars, however, ride on squeaky 15-inch wheels.SAFETYAs good as it gets at this size: five star NCAP crash rating, all the active safety acronyms you've ever heard of and several you likely haven't, plus seven airbags, including one for the driver's knees. Moreover, there's that Golf sense of door thunking solidity and the planted on road stance of a bigger car.DRIVINGDSG settings continue to defy logic. No sooner have you driven a VW Group car in which the twin clutch auto can hardly be distinguished from a smoother, older style torque converter automatic, than you encounter one that makes you look like a prat.This 77 TSI's (I say "this" because you can bet another one will be different) wasn't quite that bad, but the need poke it off the mark made for a touch too much tyre chirping. It's all very well banging on about DSG returning fuel and emission figures comparable to a manual's without the "irritation" of changing gears, but the Mazda3's five speed old school auto works better in the heavy traffic where we sent most of our Golf time.Otherwise? Yeah, fine. A slightly lesser Golf that feels more than adequate especially if you're just now able to get into one. Which works as a metaphor for the 77TSI actually ...VERDICTOnly if you absolutely must have a Golf.