Articles by Paul Pottinger

Carparazzi's snapper captured the sedan take on the 2012 Chevrolet's Aveo, as the Korean-built Barina is known in North America. While the hatch was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, this is the first clear look we've had at this shape.While it looks all too obviously like a hatch with a boot stuck on, small sedans are becoming as commonplace here as the US and this one would be the obvious replacement for Holden's current Barina four door sometime after the all-new hatch arrives in the third quarter of 2011.Power will be provided by a variety of four-cylinder petrol engines, the one most likely in this neck of the woods being a 75kW 1.4-litre unit. A five speed manual is the likely standard transmission with a five speed auto the option.The Aveo/Barina sedan could be unveiled as early as January's North American International Auto Show.

The midsize sedan, which starts from almost $52,000, has a large boot that would readily accommodate at least a temporary use space saver. But the Swedish carmaker deems a can of sealant sufficient.While it is not unusual for compact sports or performance cars to have no backup tyre, BMW has been the only carmaker in Australia that goes without a spare of any sort in its mainstream, family-size vehicles. But the German carmaker fits run flat tyres which it says can be driven for 200km after a puncture.Volvo, however, uses conventional tyres, which means motorists face being marooned in the event of flat."Because of the car's design, it's simply a question of the space," Volvo Australia chief Alan Desselss said."Obviously the feeling was that the technology of tyres is getting so much better that we believe we can take that risk and not inconvenience people. We believe that having more space and less weight is the benefit."We do have great faith in the tyres. We're very confident that's the way of the future. We know people are still very anxious, but the instances of tyre failure are so minute."That said, the day you do have a puncture and there isn't a spare it will become an issue. So our challenge is to have a support systems such as roadside assist proactive."NRMA technical spokesman Jack Haley says buyers "need to be clear of what's offered" in terms of a spare."In this case the option is road service. If it's an unusual type of tyre its may take some days to get one to you. Some types are not always available."Former rally driver Ed Ordynski, who has spent decades traversing rural and remote Australia in road and competition cars, says he "would not countenance travelling beyond the city without a full size spare".He criticised Desselss' arguments over weight and space savings."It's the consumer who carries all the risk," Ordynski says. "These cans of sealant are of dubious use."And what if its 2.30am and you're out back of Deniliquin? If road service can be called, the car will will probably have to moved away on a flatbed."It doesn't even have to be a remote area. It's easy to imagine a mother and her kids stuck on the hard shoulder of the Hume Highway. It becomes an issue of personal safety."Ordynski said while full size spares were heavy, they were "really insigificant" in the context of a car's overall weight. He is also concerned that safety-conscious buyers might buy a spare and endanger themselves by failing to secure it.

It's "naughty". Apparently. Volvo’s new S60, that is. Well, that’s what they say.S'pose it’s all relative. The look and dynamics of this fairly sleek sedan are unremarkable next to the (mainly German) rivals Volvo pitches it against, but by its own relentlessly stolid standards, the S60 may indeed seem just a touch roguish – like wearing a yellow cardigan instead of beige.VALUELooks good initially. Not so good the longer you look.The range starts at $51,950 for the T5, $57,950 for the D5 diesel topped off by the T6 at $64,950. The first is front-wheel driven; the others get all-paw traction. Irritatingly the T5 (in fact, a direct injection turbo charged four with a twin clutch auto – not a five pot as the name suggests), isn’t due until early in the New Year.Those prices put the S60 right in among the 3 Series, C-Class and A4. Volvo reckon they hold the whip hand in terms of power for the price, but are prestige punters going to be swayed by kilowatts?   The options are many and varied. Tick a few and the driveaway price goes north fast. TECHNOLOGYThe S60 is bursting with tech, most of it safety related, almost all of it optional.Not all the wizardry revolves around stopping the car, however. Drive-enhancing devices attached to the Dynamic Stability and Traction Control variously vector torque in the ever alert all-wheel-drive system and even permit some loosening of the restraints, though the electronic chaperones are never entirely absent.On the whole, it’s a sound set up DESIGNHere’s a Volvo that invites you to look again. While the C30 is funky only from the C-pillar back, the S60 has flowing lines that, if hardly revolutionary, are something of a revelation for Volvo.It’s even better within; thrones made for grand touring comfort ahead of pews with more leg and head room than the pert rear third suggests from outside. The now familiar floating centre console is shrouded with too many buttons and dials for the sake of elegance, though materials and finish rival the Audi benchmark.SAFETYFor all the preening on its admittedly impressive (though costly optional), active and passive safety measures, there is no spare tyre. None. Not even a well in which one can be accommodated.Nor, as is the case with BMW, are the standard tyres of the run flat variety. These provide at least the possibility of lasting until civilisation is reached. The S60’s are conventional 17 or 18-inch Continental or Pirelli rubber.Your solution in the event of a flat or puncture? A can of sealant, a call to roadside assist and an indeterminate wait for a suitable replacement.No fog lights either, for any money. The electro hydraulic steering unit apparently takes up too much space.Against that, the standard fitting of City Safety, which automatically brakes the car to a halt if the driver fails to react to an imminent low speed bingle, is outstanding.Adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection system, blind spot information system and lane departure warning can be had in an optional $5000 package.DRIVINGDynamically are also an obvious step forward for the brand.You gotta have faith in your car to showcase it on Tasmania’s Targa roads. The S60 goes some way to rewarding it with AWD that sends all the torque either forward or aft, a quick-witted system that imbues you with confidence and permits rapid cornering with complete surety. The T6 makes by far the best of it, with almost instant response as it launches onto the straights.Even on its 18s, ride is exceptionally composed while delivering ample feedback through a fist-filling steering wheel that weights up meaningfully with speed. But the Geartronic automatic just isn’t with the program, reacting especially slowly with the diesel, hunting for gears in drive and not entirely satisfactory even when held in sport mode and prodded manually.Again you’re left wondering how the twin-clutch version would go.VERDICTA leap forward for Volvo that doesn’t advance the game.VOLVO S60Price: $57,950 (D5); $64,950 (T6)Engine: 2.4-litre 5-cylinder turbo diesel (151kW/420Nm); 3.0-litre 6-cylinder turbo petrol (224kW/440Nm)Transmission: 6-speed automaticThirst: 7.1L/100km (diesel); 10.2L/100km (T6)

... according to the August 2010 Roy Morgan Research New Buyer Intention report. The increase has been driven by intentions for existing major models, with the Toyota Prado, Ford Territory and Subaru Outback having the greatest growth. Toyota dominates total intentions; the brand has four of the top seven most intended SUV models. Consumer intentions for SUVs have seen strong growth since the middle of 2009. Morgans says Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) intentions has increased despite fuel prices remaining relatively high and recent interest rate rises. "Our new car buyer intentions data reveals why consumers still prefer SUVs over other vehicle types  space and seating flexibility (77 per cent of SUV intenders), the option of a diesel engine (69 per cent), a car that's suitable for carrying children (61 per cent) and safety as a number one concern (82 per cent are the leading reasons for the SUV intention," the report says. It was also found that fuel efficiency is considered more important than high performance for 89 per cent of SUV intenders; hence the rise and rise of diesels in this segment. The report was released as the diesel version of Kia's Sportage medium SUV won silver in the 2010 Carsguide Car of the Year awards.

It’s the preliminary name for a new sedan of similar dimensions to the (actually quite large if you don’t mind) Volkswagen Passat and targets the mid-size car markets in China and North America, markets where they think Hyundai’s i45 is brilliant. It’s in no way to be confused with the new Passat that’s been launched in Europe and which lobs here next year. In an April 2009 interview with Automotive News, Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, stated that the NMS will be available in Spring 2011, and will have a price tag in the range of $20,000. He also mentioned that the design of the NMS has been finalised, and is assumed to be based on the leaked sketch that has hit the internet recently. Initially, the vehicle will be fitted with the 2.0-litre diesel and 2.5-litre 5-cylinder and 3.6-litre VR6 petrol engines that can currently be found in the fifth generation. More interestingly as far as other markets are concerned, the NMS will be released as a hybrid in 2012, a first for the Wolfsburg giant.

Mazda, Honda and Toyota are fighting to offload 2010 stock before the end of the year with clearances of their most popular lines.  Mazda is the latest to strike, cutting $1000 across its best-selling ranges, including the Mazda3, already the favourite car of Australian private buyers. The Mazda3 starts from $21,990, the mid-size Mazda6 Classic manual from $33,990.  All 2010 model Mazda2 Neos are $16,490 driveaway, a $500 reduction.  The 2010 4x2 BT-50 Single Cab Chassis DX is $21,990 driveaway. Honda has taken $2000 out of the Accord Euro range and up to $1600 on some versions of its Jazz light car.  The biggest single cut is the $5,300 hacked off the hugely overpriced UK-built Civic hatch. The strong Aussie dollar sees the Si hatch start from a more competitive $32,190, with an entry-level cloth-trim version on sale from January at $29,990. Toyota has cut the cost of finance on Yaris YR and Corolla Ascent five-door hatches, as well as Hybrid Camry and Prius.  The four-year Toyota Finance Advantage deal is available with a comparison interest rate of 2.9 per cent for purchases between now and January 31. Toyota also claims to have improved Corolla values by up to $2,410 and Yaris by as much as $1,700 by adding features and repositioning prices.  Yaris starts at $14,990 for the YR 3-door manual.  The most affordable Corolla, the Ascent manual hatch, starts at $20,990.  The Kluger SUV gets styling tweaks and reductions of up to $1,000.

From December 6th, you’ll be able to buy a hybrid for less than $30,000 for the first time as Honda and Toyota face off in a battle of the eco-warriors.  Unlike the first generation Insight of a decade ago, which cost $55,000 and sold fewer than 60 units, Honda’s fresh attempt to take on Toyota’s Prius – the car that’s synonymous with eco motoring piety – costs about the same as a top-spec Mazda3.The Insight is the first of four hybrids planned for local release over the next 18 months, with the CR-Z in July, then the Jazz and renewed Civic. Honda reckons their electrically augmented petrol engine cars will come to comprise 10 per cent of their hard hit local sales.Pretty compelling on paper. Insight does not achieve the economy and emissions figures of the Prius (4.6L/100km and 109g/km plays 3.9L and 89g) – or a number of new European diesels, for that matter. But $10K buys an awful lot of unleaded juice.The entry level car gets keyless entry and immobiliser, alarm, climate control air-con, 15 inch alloys, tilt and telescopic steering, six speaker audio system with CD, MP3 and Bluetooth, cloth trim and – or some reason – steering wheel mounted shifting paddles.The $33,490 VTiL, which will make up most of the sales, adds fruit like side indicators on the door mirrors, auto front windows, auto headlights, leather steering wheel, 16 inch alloys, front fog lights, satellite navigation with integrated Bluetooth, and DVD player and reversing camera.It’s a fair bowl of fruit for the dough.Honda’s 1.3-litre i-VTEC petrol four with Integrated Motor Assist set up has been around since the original Insight. As ever it uses a 10kW electric motor to augment the petrol engine, as opposed to the Prius systemThe Eco Assist system tells the driver how economically they’re going by changing the background color of the tacho. Green – naturally - means good, blue means you’re an enviro vandal and Bob Brown will frown upon you.An Econ mode alters control logic, so the car accelerates more slowly and backs off the gas engine quicker. The dashboard EcoGuide accumulates data on driving patterns, so hypermiling drivers can survey their history to improve driving strategies, rewarding the most e-conscientious with up to five green leaves in the display.Yet for all the in-cabin sophistication, it’s fairly rudimentary beneath the back, where the fuel tank and battery are stored, with torsion beam rear suspension.About as good as it gets, the five star Euro crash test rating assured by six airbags, stability program, anti skid brakes with electric force distribution and assist. The spare’s only a space saver, but there’s a reason for that, as we’re about to see …Well, no prizes for guessing what it looks like. Unlike the anonymous and accordingly low-selling Civic Hybrid, there’s no possibility of mistaking this for anything other than a hybrid, but every chance of confusing it for the hybrid hatchback that starts with “P”.Inside and up front in the Insight, you’re treated to one of Honda’s cleverly contrived instrument panels with legible instruments and a high mounted digital speedo that’s as handy as a heads up display.With 408 litres storage in the back and rear seats that fold flat, there’s genuinely useful luggage space. Indeed, the Insight is best seen as a two seater plus luggage because there’s no way on God’s green earth you’ll get four grown-ups in there and have them remain on speaking terms by a long journey’s end.Passenger space is that of a much smaller car. Indeed, Honda’s little Jazz has better headroom for those condemned to the back seats. And anyone a bit stiff about the hips is going to struggle to get in and out.Offered the choice between this a one of Volkswagen’s price and eco comparable diesel Golfs – or even the smaller and cheaper Polo – it’s the latter every time for passenger comfort and for the open road.Though performance is hardly the Insight’s purview (what’s with the sportive shifting paddles, already?), you’re never unconscious that this fairly low output engine is being asked to do a lot, especially when over taking opportunities arise.  Give me 320Nm of diesel torque, danke.The independent rear suspension that also comes with the latter is a better go on choppy roads, where the Insight back moves about a bit. The VTi we drove and shared for 200km made a racket too – the backseat boy was especially narked by tyre roar.For all that, the Insight did what it said on the tin, returning 5.2 litres per 100km in open road driving undertaken, if not heedlessly, then without special consideration for economy.And, without going back to back with the Prius, you’d have to say the Insight is easily the crisper drive, certainly it’s going to be enough for most likely punters, who in any case, want more than anything to make a visual statement.For when you absolutely have to have a hybrid. 

With the addiction of state governments to driver-derived revenue deepening, it's hardly fanciful to imagine hirlings in white vans issuing fines for cars that so much as hint that their owners might enjoy them. Spoiler? Bright paint? Dark alloys? Turbo letter box? Even if they haven't broken a law per se, that driver is clearly committing a Thought Crime and is therefore fined three points and $185. Short of moving to a first world country, where you must learn to drive to get a licence and the authority's priority is containing the road toll rather than tolling the roads, there is a tried and true method of avoiding unwanted attention. Buy a "Q-car". A notion derived from the British "Q ships" of World War I (anti-U boat vessels disguised as trawlers), a Q-Car is one whose nondescript appearance conceals its capability. VOLKSWAGEN JETTA 147TSI Price: $38,990Engine: 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbo petrolPower: 147kW/280NmTransmission: 6-spd DSG twin clutch auto0-100km/h: 7.2 seconds We argue the Golf GTI is, pound for pound, possibly the world's best car and certainly the best to be had for less than $100,000. Getting far too common to get about unnoticed, though. That can't be said for its sedan sibling. Not as dynamically adept as the GTI (it lacks the sport suspension and understeer quelling XDL locking diff on the front axle), but a respectably big-booted, four doored device that's almost as quick in a straight line. SKODA OCTAVIA RS Price: From $37,490Engine: 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbo petrolPower: 147kW/280NmTransmission: 6-spd manual or DSG0-100km/h: 7.3 seconds Built near Prague, rather than Pueblo in Mexico like the Jetta, the topline petrol RS does get a taut chassis and XDL, plus more luggage space than the Golf and its choice of manual or DSG transmissions. It also comes in two shapes - liftback or wagon - both of which preserve their anonymity despite mild bling in the form of 18-inch alloys, red brake callipers and badging. The latter hardly matters, because no one knows what a Skoda is, much less an Octavia RS. HONDA LEGEND Price: $79,990Engine: 3.5-litre V6 petrolPower: 226kw/370NmTransmission: 5-spd auto0-100km/h: About 7.0 seconds You'd be lucky to see one of these on the road (Honda sell 10 in a good a month), and would in any case look straight through it. Shaped not unlike the Accord (the boring one, not the Euro), the heavy Honda is really more a grand tourer than mountain road menace - but its revvable V6 and - especially, its constantly torque sensing so-called Super Handling All Wheel Drive set it apart. Bloody dear for a Honda, you might say, but rather cheap for an Audi A6 quattro. VOLVO S40 T5 R-DESIGN Price: from $49,950Engine: 2.5-litre, 5-cylinder turbo petrolPower: 169kW/320NmTransmission: 6-spd manual; 5-spd auto0-100km/h: 7.2 seconds You could strap all the go fast bits in an accessory shop to Volvo's compact sedan and still it'd look as threatening as a kid in a Superman suit. Same goes for the slightly more expensive but less cramped V50 wagon, only more so. And yet that blown five cylinder is a characterful engine and the underpinnings, shared with the Mazda3 and Ford's Focus, ensure sound, if unspectacular, handling. The S40's old now, so drive a bargain. LEXUS IS 350 PRESTIGE Price: $64,800Engine: 3.5L V6 petrolPower: 233kW/378NmTransmission: 6-spd sequential auto0-100km/h: 5.6 seconds The great advantage of the new IS variant is that it look precisely like the old one. The IS 250 is a top quality but rather sluggardly executive compact sedan with an earnest but inadequate 152kW/252Nm 2.5-litre V6. The IS 350 adds performance to the equation, enabling full enjoyment of its rear-wheel-drive dynamics, abetted by a sequential auto with a genuinely useful manual overide. When priced against the Germans, it's the Lexus buyer who will experience schadenfreude.

Mr Yallouridis quit effective immediately during a president's meeting at BMW's global headquarters in Munich to the surprise of his own staff, who learned of it only this morning. BMW spokesman Piers Scott could give no reason for Mr Yallouridis' departure, but stressed it was a resignation.  He admitted BMW Australia staff and dealers were taken unawares. "It was a bit of bolt from the blue this morning," Mr Scott he says. "I wouldn't consider that uncommon in the instance of a managing director stepping aside; he is most likely to do that before the board before communicating it to the staff down here." Mr Yallouridis returns to Australia next week. The role will be filled temporarily by group finance director Peter Buchauer. Guenther Seemann BMW Australia's former boss and now sales director of Asia, Pacific and South Africa, was flying to Melbourne to address staff, Mr Scott said "Guenther presides over this region. He will address staff and dealers. The conversation will be purely about retaining our progress for the rest of the year and targets for 2011. It is very much business as usual." Mr Yallouridis, 49, had been in the job since March last year. The brand's first Australian-born managing director after a succession of Germans, he was born and raised in Melbourne, before moving to Greece where he was employed by Fiat and subsequently BMW. BMW recruited him as MD for the Greek office in 2003 and, since then, sales of BMW cars, Minis and motorcycles had all shown substantial gain. The brand is tracking well this year in Australia, selling 15,016 cars and SUVs to the end of October, an increase of more then 100 on 2009. BMW sales are up 1000 sales or 7.7 per cent this year but the overall market is up 13 per cent. Key German rivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi have both grown 18.6 per cent, increasing their market share.  However, BMW remains the leading luxury brand with 15,016 passenger cars and SUVs to the end of October.

Lord knows what the poor bloke thought, when having blithely stepped off the curb he glanced up to see this bizarre apparition bearing down upon him. Some anchor work from us and a smart step back from him averted the necessity to place a position vacant advertisement. You just can't hear the i-MIEV coming and — sad but true — you can't expect pedestrians to look when they cross. We had no less than five close low speed near-misses with unwary pedestrians and cyclists (none of whom could be credited with a abundance of situational awareness) in 80km of inner city driving. While the Mitsubishi i-MiEV is the only electric vehicle (EV) on Australian roads at present — albeit in very limited numbers — there are six hybrids on sale locally, and most of these are almost equally inaudible at low speeds. The exception, Honda's Civic Hybrid, uses an electric motor to supplement its petrol engine rather than the more usual converse, and quieter, arrangement. And while EVs and hybrids remain a niche segment here, the US government's auto safety agency has found hybrids there are twice as likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes at low speeds, compared to vehicles with conventional engines. The 2009 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration examined circumstances in which the vehicles were slowing down or coming to a stop, backing up or entering or departing a parking space. Some 4300 American pedestrians were killed in 2008, according to the most recent data. The new NHTSA is researching quieter cars in relation to blind pedestrians. "Our analysis of limited data from 12 states shows that hybrid electric vehicles do have a significantly higher incidence rate of pedestrian crashes than internal combustion engines for certain manoeuvres," NHSTA boss David Strickland has said. The organisation is assessing requirements for vehicles to "emit a base level of sound at low speeds to provide some level of identification to pedestrians that a vehicle is approaching". So far in Australia only the fringe Pedestrian Council has called for a "mandatory noise function" to be built into electric and hybrid cars. But given the evident unwillingness of urban pedestrians and cyclists — even those who do not suffer impaired vision — to use their eyes, the only certainty is that the onus to find a solution will fall on carmakers.