Articles by Paul Pottinger

The first hatches arrive in May, quattro and hotter takes in September. Spied here is next year's sedan -- or is this a liftback a la the A5? Back views suggest that it's so.  

...the next model is almost ready.We know turbo charging is inevitable, but how about three of them? Jawohl, a tri-turbo 3.3-litre inline petrol six good for some 330kW. Numerologically auspicious, then, in addition to bloody fast. Here early in 2014 for about $150k.

A modest production, Torque succeeded on the strength of Peter Wherrett's authorative, sardonic presentation and its simple premise.

If not the newest prestige SUV of the year it's still the one to own. Even one immune to the prevailing and seemingly preternatural urge toward wagons with an elevated driving position “gets” Audi's Q5.I'd cross-shop it against almost any car at the pricepoint. The headliner of the four variant range has - like the lot of them - got the usual negligible visual update but its value and tech enhancements are wholly worthwhile.Wayne Swan's brainless luxury car tax means a luxury SUV will be priced cheaper than any comparable sedan or wagon. The Q5's pricepoints are further held in check by excellent fuel consumption - even the V6 turbo diesel discussed here runs well under the 7.0L/100km cut-off the Greens managed to tack on to this ill-conceived and arbitrary legislation.The entry 2.0 TDI quattro S tronic (Audis run ever leaner but their nomenclature still threatens to run off the page) starts at $62,200 (the turbo petrol four is $700 more). The whooshing supercharged petrol V6 is $74,100 and the headliner tested here starts at $75,500. Audi claims some $7000 extra value in its standard kit for no price increases - multimedia system linked navigation, reversing camera, electric passenger seat, memory functions in the seats and side mirrors, drive select and hill-hold assist.Our tester came in at $82,000 with the addition of metallic paint (an absurd $1850), painted lower body and chrome sill strips ($900), 19-inch five-arm star alloys ($1750), Bang & Olufsen sound ($1550) and the useful luggage rail system with load securing set ($450).The newest turbo petrol engines are all but eradicating the perceived advantage of diesels in cars but the economy and torque delivery of the latter remain of the essence in heavier SUVs. A favoured example, this 3.0-litre six-cylinder is fettled to shed weight and increase output, to the formidable 180kW/580Nm.The transmission is a seven-speed twin-clutch automatic, feeding torque-sensing all-wheel drive - that is, proper quattro as opposed to the Haldex set-up on the essentially Volkswagen Q3. At 6.5 seconds from 0-100km/h, the Q5 is sports sedan fast. At 6.4L/100km it's more frugal than most four-cylinder hatchbacks. Too many drive-select packages do too little. This one makes distinct and worthwhile changes to engine response and suspension settings.Doubtless some will spot the visual tweaks. The point is these are subtle enough so that owners of the first-issue model won't feel aggrieved or suffer at resale time. In line with the latest round of freshened-up Audis, the drive-select mode button is usefully located on the centre stack, a hand span from the gear lever. No need to dive into the multimedia menu to switch from comfort mode to sport. The auto tailgate is so handy and convenient that SUVs lacking it suddenly seem a bit third world.Five stars, all the kit, plus the active capability to ensure the passive devices will never be troubled. Human stupidity notwithstanding, of course.We requested a diesel for our drive before last week's launch and expected the worthy four-cylinder. That we had something rather more - having climbed in without scoping the badging - became apparent when the thing got off the mark like an engorged hot hatch and with an almost petrol engine growl. It's a gun donk all right, one that with 600km (and barely more than delivery km on the clock when we got in) returned a little over 7.0L/100km.This is the point at which Audi reviews tend to get peevish about the dynamics and steering feel not reaching the heights of the drivetrain. That's far less important in an SUV but the disparity also isn't as obvious. In sport mode, this Q5 is as tied down and dynamically adept as 1850kg of kerb weight (plus the heft of four big blokes and their gear) could reasonably be.The latest version of Audi's electronic steering is a big step in the right direction. There are shifting paddles attached to wheel but this transmission is smart enough to require minimal intervention. The turbo diesel/twin clutch hook-up is apparent only when stepping off the mark, though the combination of lag and the transmission's hesitancy to engage from go is more a characteristic than an outright fault.To ever more buyers, an Audi means an SUV. This is the best of them.

The most significant sports cars since the original Mazda MX-5 in 1989 and by far the most affordable. "There too many grey cars in the world. The Twins are technicolour and 3D'' says Paul Gover. Marketing puffery is often ludicrous -- especially when it’s Toyota promising passion. But for the 86 just about every box has been ticked and promise delivered – many more than we expected. The 86 is alive and kick-arse. The most significant sports cars since the original Mazda MX-5 in 1989 and by far the most affordable. "There too many grey cars in the world. The Twins are technicolour and 3D'' says Paul Gover. Steering feel is excellent, with good weighting and feedback. The car feels taut and agile, turning in nimbly and gripping the road aggressively. The six-speed manual is one of the best around: short, sweet and snickety. Even hardened stick-shunners could be won over by this one. It gets off the line smartly, and delivers decent in-gear acceleration, despite there not being any sense of huge torque on tap. The in-car soundtrack improves once you push it up above 3500rpm, but apart from that the engine noise is subdued and it’s the tyres you hear. That aside, the Toyota 86 is nearly everything most people could want in terms of bang for the buck. The BRZ is brilliant, addictive and deeply depressing. You need to drop six figures to find something comparable or better - Mazda's able but aging MX-5 is finally surpassed, but then so for sheer driving pleasure are cars with badges like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Embracing an old formula - light weight, small and willing atmo engine, manual trans and rear wheel drive - it feels fresh and invigorating against a field of ever more sophisticated and heinously expensive sports cars, devices  that are technical tours de force but which can be emotionally bereft. No track day intro for the BRZ, so no lurid power sliding. But during a nocturnal fang on one of the nation's best bits of sinuous blacktop, the Soob more than fulfills its part of the two-brand partnership. Swarm into a tight bend, the note of that chuntering four rises to a wail, the merest throttle input shifts to impetus from nose the tail.  Yet there are acres of space and ample signals between control and untidiness. The BRZ is highly sensitive and entirely intuitive. Toyota 86 GT manual four-seater/Subaru BRZ Price: from $29,990 (BRZ - $37,150) Engine: two-litre variable-valve direct-injection DOHC flat-four-cylinder Transmission: six-speed manual, rear wheel drive Power: 147kW @ 7000rpm Torque: 205Nm @ 6600rpm Fuel use/emissions: 7.8 l/100km, tank 50 litres 95-98 PULP; 181g/km Brakes/safety systems: Driver and front passenger airbags, front seat side airbags, curtain airbags, driver’s knee airbag, stability control (Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Traction Control), rear parking sensors Dimensions: Length 4240mm, width 1775mm, height 1285mm (BRZ -1245mm), wheelbase 2570mm, cargo volume 217 litres, weight 1222kg (BRZ 1216kg) Wheels/tyres: 16in alloy wheels (BRZ 17in alloys) Win $5,000 in our People's Choice competition.  

Picking the best car in a year of 1.1 million projected sales is Carsguide's task this week. As record November sales of 98,700 were announced, our team was testing its 10 plus one (we'll explain in a minute) finalists in the 16th annual Carsguide Car of the Year. The candidates and testers go through an exhaustive evaluation regime. There is an unprecedented number of SUVs in the field, a reflection of this segment's domination of the passenger car market. For the first time, there's a dual-cab ute. Purists argue these are not cars but trucks. Yet they are the primary vehicle for tens of thousands of families. So it's in. The finalists' countries of origin mirror your buying preferences in 2012. Four hail from Japan, two each from Korea and Thailand, one each from the EU, Australia and the US. Even in a year of outstanding prestige and luxury car releases - from McLaren through to the Porsche 911 to the Lexus GS - Carsguide's preference remains for cars the vast majority of us buy with our own money. We'll address the prestige cars of the year next week. At barely under $60,000, Holden's revolutionary Volt is the most expensive car here. Five start under $30,000. Wherever possible we have stipulated entry level models with automatic transmissions. Ford Falcon Ecoboost G6 ($40,835) Not strictly the base model, but no one pays top dollar for a new Falcon. It's likely to be the last version of the long-time (ago) No.2seller, and it's a family car of staggering value. Ford Ranger XLT ($55,390) Easily the winner of our multi-ute comparison test, this locally developed tradie lugger-cum-family hauler is the best of the new generation. Honda CR-V VTi ($29,790) We want to see how the just-released version of the original suburban soft-roader stands up. As in ever more SUVs, this version isn't “burdened” by all-wheel-drive. Holden Volt ($59,990) The Cruze body conceals the most sophisticated car ever to bear the Holden badge, a clever and above all practical electric vehicle augmented by a petrol engine. Hyundai i30 Active ($20.990) The first version was our 2007 COTY. The second continues the value story, adding shapely design and even desirability. Kia Sorento Si Diesel (from $38,990) The Korean success story isn't confined to small cars. This is a big, quality SUV with a capable and efficient diesel engine. Mazda CX-5 Maxx FWD ($29,880) Very much the SUV counterpart to the Mazda3 it's getting so you can't go five minutes without seeing one. The entry level petrol car is all the CX-5 you need. Toyota Corolla Ascent ($21,990) Toyota has remembered that design isn't inimical to the Corolla's traditional virtues. Probably the next No.1 seller. Toyota 86 GT ($29,990)/ Subaru BRZ ($37,150) This is why COTY 2012 is 10 cars plus one. These are variants of the same car, with different badges. As we've said: “In either guise the sum remains the same: that's two-thirds Subaru technical know-how plus one-third Toyota design, transmissions and an engine tweak equals the best affordable sports cars in decades and the best under $100,000. Suffice that while Subaru supplied the heart and limbs, Toyota has provided the soul, the will and the financial way.” No wonder waiting lists for both stretch into next year. Volkswagen Up three-door ($13,990) Can the most affordable European car in local history and best driver in its class overcome the disadvantage of no automatic transmission?  Some excellent cars are, of course, not here. In isolation BMW's 3 Series can be superb, especially the new hybrid version. But its popular versions were twice trounced this year in comparisons with Mercedes-Benz's C-Class. Honda's Civic is simply not a sufficient advance on the previous model or compelling in a madly competitive small car market.  We liked (very much) some versions of Peugeot's 208 but feel it falls down on value next to the class leading Volkswagen Polo, our 2010 winner. It was hard to leave out the fun Hyundai Veloster, the year's best-selling “sports” car and even an early favourite, but the two best reasons for doing so can be found above. Check Carsguide next week in print and at carsguide.com.au to learn the winner of the only car of the year contest that matters. CARSGUIDE COTY CRITERIA Value  Design  Engineering  Safety  Relevance The COTY contest comes down to how well each contender does its job and how it stacks up against its rivals, both in the top-10 shootout and in showrooms around Australia. These are the tough questions: 1. What does it cost to buy, what will it cost to run and how does its value compare to its rivals? 2. Does the design work, inside and out, make a significant advance? How well is it finished? 3. Is the engineering, from the engine to the road, best in class and right for Australia? 4. Would you trust your family to the safety package, from the airbags to the spare tyre? 5. Is the car right for our times, right for our roads and the right choice for ordinary Australians? CARSGUIDE COTY HALL OF FAME 2011 Kia Rio 2010 VW Polo 2009 VW Golf 2008 Ford Falcon G6E Turbo 2007 Hyundai i30 CRDi 2006 Holden Commodore Calais V 2005 Suzuki Swift 2004 Ford Territory 2003 Honda Accord Euro 2002 Ford Falcon BA 2001 Holden Monaro 2000 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 1999 Toyota Echo 1998 Holden Astra 1997 Holden Commodore VT Judges: Paul Pottinger, Carsguide editor; Paul Gover, Carsguide chief reporter; Joshua Dowling, News Ltd national auto editor; Karla Pincott, Carsguide online editor; Craig Duff; Chris Riley; Stuart Martin; Neil Dowling; James Stanford; Drew Gibson.  

Sitting behind the wheel of BMW's revised flagship car, it occurs that I'm in the wrong seat. I should be where almost all who enter this limo and who don't own/operate one sit: in the voluminous – nay, agoraphobic -- rear compartment.I've rented apartments smaller and less luxurious than the cabin of the updated 7 Series. Yet it's BMW's fond boast that the virtues of its halo car are all within the driving of it. Which strikes one as strange.While Audi can go on about its Le Mans champion inspired R8 supercar and Mercedes-Benz will stroke itself over the exotic SL and SLS series, the brand that bangs on about “sheer driving pleasure” has for its range topper a massive sedan that is, as like as not, chauffeur driven.Still, if you happen to be in want of a $210k-plus four door and you smile rather than wince when the road goes all curvy, here's the limo you're probably looking for.Not for the first time when approaching this part of the Carsguide template does it strike one that the notion of "value" is relative. The revised 7 gets more standard kits and access to a few smart options, a new and entirely irrelevant  hybrid variant, an up-gunned petrol V8, a standard eight speed auto across the range, Start/Stop and economy mode (except 760Li), rear self-levelling air suspension and tarted up satnav and optional Bamg and Olufsen audio system.Prices start at $204,600 for the diesel 730d (and, really, this lookalike is all the 7 Series you'd need if not want). The “volume” 740i and long wheelbase 740Li are $211,500 and $226,500 respectively.The new ActiveHybrid 7 and ActiveHybrid 7L (with the engine from the recently reviewed ActiveHybrid 3) are $222,000 and $237,000. Getting a bit silly now, the V8 750i and 750Li are $281,100 and $297,800 while the sheik's special V12 760Li is all of $391,500.Given the rear seat occupants are likely to be controlling international finance, sudden untimely jolts could have grave consequences for the Dow or the Nikkei.The newly standard self-levelling air suspension for the rear axle could therefore prevent another GFC. All get electric power steering and the ConnectedDrive package of driver assistance, safety, communication and convenience package. Inevitably there's sense of staying abreast of the Joneses about this update, hence the optional parking assistant that all but auto actually parks the massive beast, your inputs confined selecting reverse and spot of accelerator pressure while affording an all-round from above on the 10-inch multimedia screen.The Jones motif continues with the addition if automatic boot opening function. When you, or more likely your man, is standing behind the car with the key fob still in the pocket or handbag, it takes the wave of a foot under the rear bumper sensor to open the lid.Nor is Jeeves, when ordered “home and don't spare the horses”, likely to go crook about the appreciably enhanced performance on offer. Inevitably all engines are claimed to be both more potent and efficient, with Auto Start/Stop shoving its nose in and the addition of the Eco Pro mode for the Driving Experience Control.The new coasting mode decouples the engine when it is overrunning at speeds between 50 and (fancifully for us) 160 km/h, so you freewheel along with minimum juice use. The hybrid drive system combines the 235kW 3.0-litre twin scroll turbo six for a combined output of 260kW/500Nm.That means 0-100km/h in just 5.7 seconds and fuel economy figure of 6.8L/100km. Yet the inline six turbo diesel 730d does better, returning 5.6L/100km - this from a 1900kg limo. The 740i/Li gets the potent turbo 3.0-litre petrol engine that does astonishing service in the M 135i coupe and hatch.If with some half a tonne more to haul the 235kW/450Nm doesn't sparkle as such it still registers a 5.7 second sprint time and fuel use that at 7.9L/100km betters a Mazda3 Neo. Significant fettling has rendered the most impressive powerplant even more so.Fuel use of the turbo boosted 4.4 V8 has been reduced by a quarter to 8.6L/100km despite putting out 330kW/650Nm to achieve a 4.8 second sprint time. Not a whole lot of point then in range topper's atmo V12, which is barely faster but massively thirstier. But it is the last of its breed - BMW's are now almost all turbo charged.Brighter and cleverer lights fore and aft (which mean you won't be taken for an Audi), a few more colours (don't panic - only monochromes and deep blues), tarted up interiors (reassuringly faux wood trimmed as ever). And ... That's about it.We're talking about a massively muscled up version of the instantly recognisable current BMW paradigm. The two heavy hitters in back have plenty of elbow room and access to Internet or television via tonal screens. Missing, totally subjectively, is the last degree of opulence, that which makes Audi's A8 the car to sit in.A saga in itself, the active and passive safety measures here prove again that while lawmakers and politicians preen themselves on reducing the road toll, it is carmakers that make it nigh on impossible to kill yourself on the road. Yet in several Australian states P-platers continue to be forbidden to drive the safest cars on the planet.The renewed 7 has safety kit of which you can bet most licensing authorities know nothing. The Active Protection Safety package includes Attentiveness Assistant which analyses driving behaviour on the basis of various signals such as steering angle and road speed. Detecting signs of fatigue, it posts a warning in the form of an illuminated coffee cup telling the driver to rest up.Automatic braking kicks in if you're slow to react to an imminent shunt. Following an impact, the car is slowed to a standstill with a maximum deceleration rate of 5 m/s² and its brakes then locked for a further 1.5 seconds to prevent a secondary impact.Optional on all but the workplace models, night vision features a Dynamic Light Spot function to improve early pedestrian detection. At the heart of the Night Vision system is an infrared thermal imaging camera integrated into the kidney grille.A cool feature of ten enhanced LED lights is High-Beam Assistant which enables you to keep full glow on but guides the lights around the car in front and shields them from oncoming  traffic, detecting the former from 400 metres and latter from all of a klick.Difficult not to be impressed by such dynamic dexterity in something that is essentially an engorged sedan, even as you wonder at the point of it. Having driven the previous day an M135i, the same engine is enough here to remove the need for anything greater. Indeed in almost all circumstances it is more than enough.Much the same can be said of the diesel. Though driven briefly, it is worth a buyer testing both sixes. But once sampled it's hard to see past that crisp V8. Turbo enhanced it has torque everywhere, and a penchant for skipping away to license shredding speeds without betraying the least effort, only the red dash glow when the Driving Experience Control is switched to sport mode.No roaring aural report here, that's not what it's about, just a business like growl and a kilometre crushing lope. Which serves only to highlight the 7's uneasy status as the self-proclaimed driving brand's halo car. There are a number of BMW's - not least the new 6 Series variant with its graceful four door coupe lines - that run the same drivetrains and shout success with a good deal more style if not as much function. I suppose some chauffeurs get all the fun.As technically accomplished as you would expect, the 7 isn't enough to make you forget there's no shortage of toys in its price point.

At the international launch of this generation Cayenne five years ago, the biggest wig present dismissed the very notion of Porsche existing in the same temporal realm as diesel.Even in an SUV - the passenger vehicle type best suited to such a powerplant - a diesel would be simply too heavy, too inflexible, too common for Porsche.Well, here's another diesel Porsche, the latest of what will by next years by a Cayenne range of eight models of all types. Except, maybe not.The entry Cayenne diesel V6 doesn't do enough to disguise its commonality with Volkswagen's Touareg and Audi's Q7 (same basis, same engine, same Slovakian assembly line). The new one, however, the Cayenne S Diesel, almost succeeds in transcending its very dieselness.Indeed, when we turned the key not a rattle was to be heard, not an agricultural calling card. On accelerating sharply out of the compound and toward the mountain passes above Graz, we just about turned around to express indignation at the practical joke that had so evidently been played. The splendid V8 thrum that blurted forth could only come from a petrol engine.In its acoustic respect alone, the S Diesel resembles a muscle car. It'll make the other mums look when you cue outside school.VALUEAt $155,500 the S Diesel is some way from being the top whack Cayenne, sitting below the Cayenne Turbo and GTS. In so far as a few grand matters at this end of the market, it does come in some $4K over the petrol S - and would by any measure justify that premium and more.Standard is air suspension, the component that when set to optimum comes so close to covering the sense that this is the one SUV that truly deserves the cliche "car like" in terms of its dynamics.TECHNOLOGYIt's all about that engine, the twin turbo diesel V8 adapted from cousin company Audi then fettled and finessed to the degree described above. Putting out a 252kW and a mountainous 850Nm from 2000rpm, it out pulls most any petrol engine while sounding every bit as pretty to the ear.Reaching 100km/h from standing in 5.7 seconds isn't bad for any 2.1 tonne missile, let alone one driven by means not long ago dismissed by this very marque. It's barely more than a second slower than the 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet, with which it shares the darkly magical Porsche Traction Management all-wheel-drive system. Combined with Porsche Stability Management, this settles any prattle about under or oversteer by removing the matter entirely from humans hands. In hard cornering, the inside rear wheel is relieved of responsibility by the one outside, setting up the up the most rapid corner exit. Turn it all off, or as off as possible, and see if you can do better. Or rather, don't. It's a question of constantly motoring mac apportioning torque, permitting to wheel than can be put down - a question it answers emphatically.Conversely, a cruising range of some 1200km using is claimed from the 100-litre tank at an ideal average of 8.3l/100km - a rate comparable to a Mazda3.DESIGNLoathe SUVS or merely hate them, the Cayenne is  the least visually offensive of this breed. Those Porsche exterior accents do a remarkable job of disguising this thing's immense bulk.Within the cabin sets a standard the 911 has only with its latest model began to emulate. Of shared and comparably humble origins the Cayenne surely is, but this interior -  lush without being over embellished - is all its own thing, one of the best of any type. It'll be interesting to see how cousin Bentley does with its own imminent and barge bummed SUV.SAFETYPorsches don't get crashed in laboratories. While the Q7 anomalously scored only four stars when released, the Touareg got all five.As with the Carrera 4, however, the Cayenne's singular battery of active electronic safety measures remove any but the most egregiously human changes of putting its crash proof ness to the real world test.DRIVINGWhile we've carped the Carrera 4 is possibly just a bit too clinically brilliant for the sake of fun, much the same tech arsenal makes the Cayenne an unalloyed joy. For an SUV that is. It's all relative.Squeezing by and around other vehicles on high mountain roads with origins in horse and dray days should be the very definition of difficult in something of the Cayenne's displacement. That it isn't says everything for technical accomplishment of the Stuttgart car maker.Hunched in its lowest suspensions setting, such is the response of this superb diesel that again it  the "car like" cliche that comes to mind. The merest throttle openings are enough to keep overtaking exposures to a sports sedan like minimum, the constantly varying all-wheel-drive working so seamlessly you scarcely suspect such electro-trickery's at play.All the while there's that cliche shattering engine note. If you can detect diesel in that, you're paying too much attention to the noise and failing to enjoy the crushing torque that only turbo diesel can bring.VERDICTA new departure and new prestige SUV benchmark

Four wheels good, two wheels ... Well, not "bad". Never bad. Not when they're the rear wheels of a 911. The triumphal and still fairly new 991 generation of the perennial sports car has been launched in its all-wheel-drive versions - Carrera 4, 4S and the equivalent Cabrios. Driven this week in the Austrian Alps, it was never going to be a question of these being better than the solely rear driven 911s.Rather it's down to your definition of "better". Is making the already incredibly adept 911 that bit more clinical and über capable is really such a good idea - especially in a car that is already too good to be used in Austria and leagues of magnitude too good for Australia?When asked what Carrera would do for him, Herr 911 himself - the model's project leader August  Achleitner - tells Carsguide: "I would be satisfied with the C2 S. If  you do not live among snow, the grip is massive."Indeed he says, when properly shod with Pirelli summer rubber and driven in optimum conditions, the ostensibly lesser 911 provides some 90 per cent of the C4's immense capability. "But," Achleitner says, "you feel better when you hand the keys to your wife." Or the likes of me.VALUEIf measured literally by metal for the money, there's no argument. The extent to which the wide bodied C4s are bigger than the C2s appears incremental on paper, but hugely imposing in physical appearance. More on that in a minute ...In showrooms by March (those that haven't been pre-bought) - the 3.4-litre 911 Carrera 4 Coupe is priced at $255,400 plus on-roads - the price of a VW Up over the previous model.  The Carrera 4 Cabriolet is a base Polo dearer than its predecessor at $280,900. At $289,400 the stove hot 3.8-litre Carrera S 4S represents a rise of a Polo with DSG. The  range topping $315,000 Carrera Cabriolet is getting into Golf country over the car that preceded it.Yet even without options (but always including the $5400 PDF twin clutch auto) the full panoply of which could equally be a Scirocco S over the previous car, the new Carrera 4s  represents at least that great an advance. It's a tech tour de force.Realise also that more than $100,000 of each car's purchase price goes to Wayne Swan, who of course spends it on everyone's behalf, so don't go calling 911 drivers "bankers". They're contributing to the common good.TECHNOLOGYTo extol the Carrera 4's array of tech would not only be superfluous - you've read it all recently - but to risk being cast adrift in an ocean of acronyms. This time, we need discuss only Porsche Traction Management system, the slick electronic mechanism that shares the driving force around all four wheels, distributing power between the permanently driven rear axle and the front. It allows no more torque to be transmitted to the wheels than can be done without slip, reacting quicker than a mere human could hope.It's as active or passive as you yourself are behind the wheel, continuously monitoring including the rotational speed of all four wheels, the lateral and longitudinal acceleration of the car and the steering angle to send drive to where it will do most good. Blast off the mark hard enough to disturb traction and the multi-plate electronic clutch thrusts power aft. To cement the relationship of "proof" with "fool", another program prevents wheel spin by adapting the engine’s power output. During cornering, the optimal level of drive power is distributed to the front wheels to ensure excellent lateral stability.And if not for the event busy dashboard indicator that shows which end is doing how much  work, you might never know what's the go. PTM might as well be a short form for "seamless". Or "flattering". Sorry but you alone are just not that good.Present and correct are the two tunes of Porsche's water-cooled flat six, with direct injection, variable valve timing, an aluminium block and every refinement to ensure that in 3.4 or 3.8 form, the C4 911s run barely an eyeblink behind the C2s.The Carrera 4 Coupe does the 0-100kmh run in 4.5 seconds, the Cabriolet in 4.7 - all of one tenth behind the rear wheel drive cars. The blazing S versions match their lighter siblings at 4.1 seconds in the Coupe and 4.3 in the drop top.DESIGNOn paper 44mm of extra width over the regular 911 looks very little. In practice, on narrow alpine roads crusted by frost with vertiginous drops, it feels like an extra metre. If unkind to driver's view (shrouded is too kind a word for the coupe's rear three quarter aspect) visibility is very much the point of the flared rear arches and wider wheels."This is why we have the wide body," Achleitner says. "People wish to show they can afford the most expensive model."Certainly the 911's cockpit no longer leaves you wondering where your quarter of a million bucks went. Indeed, Porsche appears to be over eager to demonstrate it. No less than 60 buttons festoon the centre console and mirror controls.While the wheel is free of these, its column spouts four wands and two gear shifting levers. There's a tonne of function, but form? Not so much.If being the 911's exterior designer is the equivalent to being Tony Abbott's speechwriter - give them more of the same then repeat endlessly - incremental changes become all the more impactful. The widened C4 looks weapons grade.SAFETYNo one's crash tested this and no one's going to. At any rate, the C4 sheer dynamic ability, underwritten by an exceptional array of  active and passive electronic measures, means the human factor needs to be especially egregious if all is to end in road toll stats.So clinically, incredibly adept is the C4, I asked Achleitner if perhaps some of the sport had been removed from this classic sports car."To  use an example from my own experience, I am a very enthusiastic manual transmission driver. But when you drive PDK, which can manage so wide a breadth of tasks, you can even as a lover of manual transmissions want to change to PDK," he says."All these systems and all-wheel-drive too - at Porsche we ask the question do we need these? They are not essential, but they improve the car. It makes its ability, its limits, higher. And the car never gets boring."DRIVINGCertainly the car - especially the full throated S - never sounds dull. When you've tired of the aural frenzy bought on by even a half enthusiastic throttle opening,  you have tired of life.Even with its dynamic edge blunted by winter tyres, it is impossible not to be awestruck by this phenomenally sophisticated device for getting around corners quickly. You cannot reasonably complain about the feelful electric steering.You cannot but be delighted by the throttle blipping down changes of the PDK, transmission so adept, so incredibly intuitive that imposing your own will via manual changes is like pouring salt into an exquisite sauce or improving a Shakespearean tragedy with a happy ending. Your intervention is not only superfluous, but undesirable.Maybe that's a good thing.VERDICTFor when only the very best will do, even if the best is a bit too much.

With auto journalism being commonly regarded by fellow journalists as something less than journalism and by almost everyone else as something less than a real job, you soon learn to not to airily drop such bon mots as: "When I was in Frangers for the oh-five show..."It does little to banish the enduring perception image that people in this field of endeavour are ligging bastards who stagger from top end cars to the bar then back to their palatial hotel suites. In my experience, being on the road in this gig is a perennially frantic search for wi-fi to file first and shoving leviathan picture files through the constricted capillary of YouSendIt. So anyway, there I was at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show -- my first such occasion. At least that's where I thought I was. So ubiquitous were the female models -- up to five draped across each and every of the hundreds of autos throughout the 10 exhibition centres -- that I imagined I'd landed by mistake in Paris or Milan during the haute couture shows. "It is ridiculous," huffed the then-head of Volkswagen Australia, a lady, as it happens, of great charm. "But everyone else does it, so we must." Yet why do they when, as every indication and market survey tells us, more than 70 per cent of new car decision are made by women? Difficult to see how festooning, say, a $19K hatchback, with the skinny and the scantily clad is anything but the most reflexive sexist cliche. Worse, when you're out to spruik a family car, it's just a little self-defeating.