Articles by Philip King

French police specifications have turned Renault's best into a record-breaker. They shopped local when they chose to upgrade recently. In Europe, with more corners, autobahns and Italian drivers, the police are in an arms race. They won't catch a Porsche unless they're packing heat themselves.So some lucky rozzers get to sample serious metal. German cops do get Porsches. Exotic brands such as Lamborghini and Ferrari loan out their supercars, with British and Italian plod both beneficiaries in the past.Renault has form here, going back to its Alpine A110 rally star of the 1960s and beyond. The requirements for the gendarmerie rapid response vehicle were specific: 265hp (195kW if you drive in metric), the same as the Subaru WRXs it already runs. Nothing from Renault qualified, although it did have something close.VALUEIt’s priced from $42,640 for the Cup and climbs up to $51,640 for the Trophy+ plus on-road costs. The upgraded RS does include a set of driving data screens, including a g-meter, and five different throttle response settings, with track work in mind.The top-spec car's kit levels are generous, but there's also an enticing special edition called 8.08 after the car's Nurburgring time which looks like the pick of the bunch. Australia's appetite for the RS250 is second only to France and Germany's, with 262 sold so far this year. And of course French orders are swelled not just by national pride but the demands of the gendarmerie, which has 80 and ordered 20 more. What chance of seeing a couple in our own highway patrols?DESIGNThe cabin has a more premium feel, with a soft carbon weave lookalike fabric in the doors and shiny black plastic around the centre console. The radio controls have been improved but the buttons are still too tiny. While I'm picking nits, the gearshift action isn't my favourite and the clutch take-up is a bit high. It's partly a case of finding the correct seating position, which can be a little elusive.TECHNOLOGYIts Megane RS250 has 250 horses under the bonnet and a reputation as the best-handling hatchback you can buy. All it needed was more power. The answer: turn up the spin cycle on the twin-scroll turbocharger pumping air into the car's 2.0-litre four-cylinder. The extra horsepower meets the gendarmerie's specifications and gives the RS265, as it's now known, even more of an edge. Torque increases as well, by 20Nm, with 80 per cent of that available from 1900rpm.The result is a marginal but worthwhile improvement in acceleration to 100km/h by one-tenth to 6.0 seconds. Top speed on the RS265 rises 5km/h to 255km/h while fuel consumption drops a little to 8.2 litres per 100km. Which is helpful when it’s slurping 98 RON. Like the previous version, it comes only with a six-speed manual.Full power is accessed via a Dynamic Management system, which delivers the extra oomph when the sport button is pressed. This also lowers the intervention threshold for electronic stability control, which can be turned off completely for track days.As before, power goes only to the front wheels and Renault tackles the problems of using them for traction and direction with a limited slip differential that proportions torque to the wheels in response to their grip levels. It's mechanical, so there's no loss of power. Renault's sophisticated front suspension set-up also separates the steering and dampers, reducing torque steer -- tugging at the wheel under hard acceleration. DRIVINGTo test the RS265, Renault went to the home of rear-wheel-drive performance cars that cost two or three times as much: the Nurburgring track in Germany. It came away with more than an impressive lap time for the twisty 21km. It set a record for a front-wheel-drive car of 8 minutes and 8 seconds. On the drive program in Queensland, a challenging road reminded me why I liked the previous model so much. Few cars could stay with the RS265 around corners. It eats them up with relish and then licks its lips. The 18-inch wheels on the entry model will protest a bit but their grip levels are exemplary and to make this car understeer on a public road you'd need to go bonkers. You can upgrade to even stickier 19-inchers with only a slight degradation in the ride quality. The ride quality feels sophisticated on either set of alloys and the car's overall composure is superb. Nothing rattles it -- challenging surfaces, rapid changes of direction and road camber, or all at once.It just confidently holds its line and the steering, although electric, is precise and absorbs problems that would shake other cars off course or shudder their steering wheels. This electric steering is among the best I've sampled and torque steer is so negligible as to be effectively absent. It didn't lack power as the RS250, but you'll want all 265 horses to make the most of its dynamic ability. There's a decent spread of turbocharged oomph, forceful from low-revs and linear to the limiter. The turbo spools up smoothly, too, so power doesn't drop off a cliff and it's more flexible uphill in high gears than I expected.Issues are niggles, not deal-breakers: it would be more potent with scope to rev the engine a little higher and although the exhaust has been tweaked, the sound could be more exciting. It's at its best revving up and down through tight twisties, when you get a bit of over-run. Find it, and everything's sweet. On a racetrack, the brakes would probably be the limiting factor.VERDICT The RS265 deserves to be every bit as popular as the model it’s replacing.Renault Megane RS265Price: from $42,640
Warranty: 3 years/unlimited km
Service interval: 12 months/10,000km
Safety rating: not tested
Spare: space saver
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged 4cylinder; 195kW/360Nm.
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Body: 2-door coupe
Weight: 1374kg
Thirst: 8.2L/100km, 190g/km CO2

China's fledgling car brands are being wedged between slowing growth at home and a lack of competitiveness in export markets, says a leading independent carmaker. Great Wall Motors, one of the few Chinese carmakers to sell in developed markets after launching in Australia three years ago, believes it will take another 20 years before local cars can perform on the global stage. First-half results showing 17 per cent higher sales concealed the real picture for the company, Great Wall vice-president Huang Yong told the Global Automotive Forum in Chengdu, southwest China, at the weekend. "There is a crisis behind the data, because we clearly realise that the starting point for our brand is low. Even though our growth rate is OK, we're uncompetitive, especially in international markets.'' Great Wall was the first Chinese car brand in Australia and has sold about 25,000 pick-ups and SUVs, with driveaway prices starting from $21,000. Chery and Geely, two other independent Chinese carmakers, have a much smaller presence here and all operate through distributors. Great Wall is one of the most aggressive Chinese car exporters, pushing into Europe this year after opening a factory in Bulgaria. But Mr Huang said that despite the rapid growth in domestic demand, local brands had a way to go. ``We should stop being greedy and move step by step,'' he said. "Our goal is to make our product and company international, but this will take another 20 years.'' China will export about one million vehicles this year, or just 5 per cent of the 20 million expected to be built. Auto equities analyst Max Warburton said China's carmakers lacked the key conditions for export success: a profitable home market to fund expansion and a unique selling proposition. He said the motive behind exports was unclear because profits were ``questionable'' and there were risks in moving too quickly, with the Korean industry taking years to recover from a perception that it sold substandard cars. "Every national grouping of car companies that has found export success has done so by offering a superior product, not just a cheaper product,'' he said, citing the ability of German cars to command price premiums and Japanese success founded on a reputation for quality and economy. The main export destinations for Chinese vehicles were markets such as Iraq, Belarus and Ethiopia, he said, which "don't yet have an international level of competitiveness in terms of customer expectations''. China's independent brands have been the prime force behind exports. But they have been losing out to the main domestic players, which are joint ventures between carmakers from developed nations and state-owned operations in China.  

A virtual-reality system that allows engineers "to sit in a car that doesn't exist'' is part of a wholesale refit of Ford Australia's design studios to cement its role as regional leader for the brand's vehicle development.
The $500,000 system, which relies on Hollywood technology to capture the movement of actors for animation, is thought to be unique in the industry. It links with two identical systems, in Ford's Dearborn headquarters in the US and at its European design centre in Cologne, so that remote engineers can all work on the same project.
Special headsets immerse the engineers in the cabin of a yet-to-be-built design and allow them to test ergonomics, switch positions and visibility, for example, while others monitor their movements on a 3D screen. The system delivers full 360-degree views of the cabin and exterior and even lets developers peer under surfaces to see the structures below. In reality, the driver and passenger are sitting on car seats in a small darkened room.
Ford Australia president Bob Graziano said the refit confirmed Australia's central role in the company's global development operations as the leading studio for its region, which includes China and India.  "We are the centre of excellence for design and engineering in the Asia Pacific and Africa region and one of only three in the Ford world,'' he said yesterday. "There's been a lot of focus on our manufacturing, but here is where it all begins.''
He cast aside doubts about the viability of Ford's nearby Broadmeadows factory, which builds the Falcon and Territory, but said that "we believe you can have research and development without manufacturing''. Ford Australia has previously worked on a small car for India called Figo as well as being the centre of development for the brand's global utility, the Ranger, which was launched last year.
The design studio refit, thought to cost about $2 million, also included a huge 6m by 3m screen to review work in progress. 

In what may be a first, the Subaru BRZ sportscar can only be ordered online. Residents in the classiest suburbs of Toronto, Canada, got an unusual postcard recently. It featured their house with a new Porsche 911 in the drive.Not a dodgy bit of Photoshop, but a real picture taken by an advertising team that immediately turned it into a piece of highly personalised direct mail. The world's first instant direct mail, according to the agency.Although the operation was conducted from the back of a suspicious-looking white van and risked an encounter with over-zealous security, it was clearly a success.One-third of recipients booked themselves in for a 911 test drive with Pfaff Auto and the whole exercise was made into a video. Now this idea clearly has limitations but it's surprising no one has done it before. SOLD OUT ONLINEIt's not as though the technology is new. It's the same with the internet. Turns out ordering online works for books and all that stuff we used to buy from Gerry Harvey, but we're still reticent when it comes to new cars.Instead, we scour the web for reviews and specifications, and play with configurators. Then we head into showrooms to scare salespeople senseless by knowing more than they do. Examples of car-makers moving the entire transaction online are rare.So Subaru Australia, with its new BRZ sportscar, is a pioneer. When it went on sale in July, everything was handled via a special web program. All you needed was a credit card. Spokesman Dave Rowley believes it may be unique. “We did a search and the only place we found anything remotely similar was a dealer group in the UK selling one Ford model online,'' he says.Subaru decided to try it out when it realised that supply of the BRZ would be limited to just 201 for the rest of the year. That's fewer than two cars for each of its dealers, an impossible equation. Toyota, which launched its version here in June, has been bowled over by demand. The problem is even more acute for Subaru, with the Japanese factory making just one BRZ for every seven 86s.“We knew we were going to be extremely limited by supply because of worldwide demand for the car,” Rowley says. “Everywhere it's been launched it's been a huge hit. We knew we weren't going to have enough cars. We thought, how can we be fair to the entire network and customers? That's where the idea came from.”Subaru commissioned a local firm to write the online software. Rowley says Subaru was happy with the way it worked, although when it went live the site was overloaded. “There were some glitches because website traffic peaked at 50 times normal. But within a few hours it was working very smoothly. The average time to complete the contract process was 20 minutes.”Feedback has been positive, he says, and age was no bar to using the technology with at least one septuagenarian elbowing aside the gen Ys. Dealers are excluded from the order process but clip the ticket if nominated as the delivery venue. Some have even been lucky enough to get demonstrators, but the car has sold on its reputation.“It went absolutely through the roof and they have been steadily selling since,” Rowley says. The order bank now extends to March and the locals are sending begging letters to Japan.VALUESubaru kept it simple with limited options and one national driveaway price from $37,150, ironing out the state tax and insurance regimes. Three-years scheduled servicing is included, there's a facility for valuing trade-ins and an estimated delivery date.The options are limited: apart from a spare wheel cover you can add carpets, satnav and boot spoiler. Tick everything and you'll spend about $44k. And you'll need to buy a cover, for $175.TECHNOLOGYThe BRZ is an unusual Subaru because unlike every other Subaru sold here it lacks all-wheel drive, which has been a key point of difference for the brand. In traditional sportscar fashion it's rear-drive and the result of a joint development project with Toyota, which owns a stake in Subaru.The Toyota is called 86 and the two are virtually identical. They share compact dimensions, a Subaru flat four-cylinder engine with direct injection, modest mass and a reputation as a they-don't-build-'em-like-that-any-more enthusiast's sportscar.DESIGNIf you're in the queue, then I hardly need to spell out the BRZ's vital statistics. For everyone else, it's every bit as good as the 86. In fact, it's hard to tell them apart. From the outside little separates the twins, although the BRZ has different front and rear clips and the one I drove had terrific 17-inch alloys.Inside, some of the plastics are dud and buttons old-school. But the worst bit is the bodgy Bluetooth gizmo, a bit like the old number pad security systems fitted to WRXs. At least it works.However, the seats are good -- although even with the leather option there's more contrast stitching than leather -- and the rears fold for boot access. Cargo space is compromised by a full-size spare. So like the 86, the cabin is rudimentary but liveable.DRIVINGSome ingredients impressed differently. It was especially pleasing that the engine sounds better than I remember from the 86 -- looser and with a more appealing note. Which is odd since they're the same. It's also just as well because judging by the tyre roar, the cabin seems to lack soundproofing.The engine is more flexible than you expect, especially through the mid-range, and although it needs a few revs it's not as peaky as the output numbers suggest. As with the 86, the BRZ likes to be driven precisely and responds quickly to inputs.The slightest adjustment to the steering wheel or pedals and you feel the weight transfer slightly, as the chassis adjusts. It's light on its feet and has poise.But not all the ride comfort has been traded away. Over rough roads the bump absorption and damping would not disgrace something much more expensive. Subaru won't say if it will try online selling again. But it might. However, it would never do for Porsche.In the unlikely event that I find a postcard among the junk mail from a Porsche dealer, and the even more unlikely event I have the money to spend, I'll want to touch and feel and spend a long time poring over the lengthy options catalogue. And I'm sure Porsche would not want to discourage me from that.Subaru BRZPrice: from $37,150 (manual) to $39,730 (automatic)Warranty: 3 yearsEngine: 2.0-litre horizontal four-cylinder petrol, 147kW/205NmTransmission: six-speed manual or automatic, rear-wheel driveThirst: 7.8L/100Km, 181 g/km CO2

Private buyers opted for imported SUVs and fleets flocked to light commercials. In a grim month for the industry, GM Holden's Adelaide-built Cruze small car was one of the surprise casualties as the locals lost almost 3500 sales compared with the same month last year. Imports enjoyed strong demand, total July sales of 86,641 vehicles beating a record for the month set in 2007. The result caps seven consecutive months of growth and leaves sales for the year up 9.9 per cent or an extra 57,000 vehicles. Almost 43,000 of those are SUVs, with two-thirds going to private buyers. Demand for SUVs followed form last month, with a 23 per cent increase driven by newcomers such as the Mazda CX-5 and a demand backlog for Toyota models, the supply of which is up to full speed after last year's tsunami in Japan. The same effect pushed the Toyota Hilux workhorse to the top of the sales charts, with 4163 delivered, 49 per cent more than in July last year. Toyota sales and marketing chief Matthew Callachor said new models, including the 86, the brand's first sports car in years, were also helping to restore the brand. "In the past five months, we have introduced three models that are totally new (and) revitalised our entire range of locally produced cars,'' he said. "These launches, as well as Toyota's quicker-than-expected recovery from last year's natural disasters, have underpinned the growth in sales.'' With sales up 29 per cent last month, the Camry was the sole bright spot for local makers. Deliveries of Toyota's other locally built model, the Aurion, slumped by 31 per cent, but it was much worse for the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore.  

You can spend thousands on options in an Evoque. But what if you don't? Compare a new car with one from a decade ago and it's amazing how much stuff we now take for granted.In test cars, invariably specced to the rafters, it can be hard to work out how much of a car's desirability is inherent and how much depends on the number of options. A case in point is the Range Rover Evoque. When this fashionable soft-roader was launched last year, every test car had thousands in extras.VALUEIn some cases, this pushed up the price by half as much again, to beyond $100k. That left the impression it was overpriced, and I wondered what would be left if you removed all the options. It was impossible to work out if a standard Evoque even feels like a Range Rover.At least it was until last week, when I got into an Evoque eD4, the bottom rung of the range at $49,995. Even in base spec, the Evoque has enough to pass muster against today's raised expectations. Crucial inclusions, for me at least, are Bluetooth phone and rear parking sensors.If you want more, it's available -- although the next rung on the trim ladder is another $13,500 and includes pointless gadgets such as rain-sensing wipers. There are things missing, of course, but many of them I can do without. These would include a reversing camera, sunroof, ambient lighting and powered tailgate.Satnav is a bigger omission and auto headlamps are useful, if only because that means there are no chimes reminding that you've left them on. My expectations for the interior were lowered when I saw the spec sheet. Only two options are fitted: front carpet at $200 and rear vents at $190. If breathing is an option, what will the rest of it be like?DESIGNFrom the outside it's impossible to tell that this Evoque is the bottom feeder. The rear comes well equipped and doesn't feel poverty-pack. And it's like that throughout. The seats are first rate, even though not much of the upholstery is leather. Trim that appears to be metal actually is metal, while much of the dash and door material is soft-touch.The cabin has most of what makes more expensive Evoques successful: the same jewel-effect dials, the same wheel loaded with audio and cruise controls, and the same detailed switchgear. Everything feels solid and substantial.The absence of grab handles is a black mark, but that's not limited to this version. But there's enough here to be convincing. Range Rover has made a sound judgment about what constitutes the lowest common denominator for the brand.TECHNOLOGYEven the brand's trademark four-wheel drive is absent from the eD4. This variant is its first front-wheel drive car in Australia, although we've known they were coming. Both the Evoque and the Freelander, which supplies the engineering for both cars, are sold as 2WDs in Europe.Under the eD4 bonnet is the low-output 2.2-litre diesel four-cylinder already available in Evoque, although here it gets 20Nm less torque. By shedding four-wheel drive, the eD4 loses 75kg and achieves impressive fuel economy of five litres per 100km, or even less for the three-door.However, the only transmission available is a six-speed manual. What will hold the eD4 back in this market is the lack of an auto. The most affordable automatic is another $10k and comes only with a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol and four-wheel drive.DRIVINGThe eD4 isn't quick at 11.2 seconds to 100km/h and it sounds like it's just driven across a ploughed field. There are also hints of diesel vices -- a smidgin of torque steer, a little vibration around 1400rpm. However it's far from the most abrasive oil-burner and, as it delivers lots of driveable torque through its mid-range, it's surprisingly easy to live with.Around town, you'll need to change gears a lot but the stubby little shifter has a nice action, complemented by well-weighted pedals. It also drives well, with nicely damped composure and insulated ride quality. Less weight helps the dynamics, and while it's far from agile, it is enjoyable.VERDICTThe demand for Evoques is outstripping supply; it's a worldwide hit the like of which Land Rover has never known. You get the impression it could fit anything under the bonnet and they'd sell.Range Rover Evoque eD4Price: from $49,995Warranty: 3yr roadside assist, 100,000kmEngine: 2.2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel, 110kW/380NmTransmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel driveThirst: 5.0 / 100Km

But it's already clear what will be on the death certificate: "Terminal misreading of the market, with complications.'' The three remaining locals are vestiges of a time when motoring was a monoculture centred on the large sedan. We bought them because we liked them and the government bought them to keep the industry going. From one basic platform, Holden and Ford could spin a range of cars calibrated to appeal to every level of the market, from long-wheelbase luxury sedans, such as the Caprice or Fairlane, to utes that could be used for work and pleasure. Less inventive locals Toyota and Mitsubishi -- remarkably, the latter departed only four years ago -- survived with fewer models but kept their factories going with exports. Go back even a decade and those four commanded more than 30 per cent of all vehicle sales. But even then it was the height of wishful thinking to expect this to continue. At the showroom level, imported brands offered more variety and our tastes were diversifying. Ten years ago it was already clear that SUVs were becoming the new family car. At the same time, when fuel prices soared some buyers downsized to hatchbacks and didn't come back. Europe and Asia's expertise with small cars meant this involved fewer and fewer compromises. The world's car industry was knocking on the door, in fact, and increasingly finding it open. After reaching a high of 57.5 per cent in the 1970s, a schedule of tariff cuts lowered the impost to 15 per cent by 2000. If the industry was going to adjust to global competition, this was the time to do it. Instead, it kept on doing what it always did and bemoaned the final two adjustments that have left vehicle tariffs at just 5 per cent since 2010. That's low by world standards, no question. But steady-as-she-goes was not the way to respond. And for the locals, there was worse to come. Over the past decade, the rise in the value of the Australian dollar has made imports relentlessly cheaper, and they arrive with equipment and technology the locals cannot match. Free trade agreements with the US and Thailand give vehicles sourced from these countries even more wriggle room on price. Which might not have mattered much, except that Thailand was about to become the regional manufacturing hub for Southeast Asia, as one carmaker after another set up shop. From 2004 to 2007, the value of Thai imports doubled. And while it once built mainly workhorses, it now makes mainstream cars for Toyota, Honda, General Motors and more. Since 2010, we buy more Thai vehicles than Australian and as a source it comes second only to Japan. The switch to imports was also being driven by changes at the workplace level. The days when a work vehicle had to be either a Commodore or Falcon are long gone thanks to the rise of leases that allow a wide degree of choice. At the same time, fleet purchasing, both government and commercial, has been increasingly subject to environmental constraints, driving a move away from V6-engined cars and into four-cylinders. This was critical to the locals because three-quarters of their cars were bought by fleets. Did they have anything to offer? Of course not, and they came to the wrong conclusion that fitting more efficient engines to Falcons and Commodores would solve the problem. Hence the recent launch of a four-cylinder Falcon, funded partly by Canberra cash, that is too little, too late. Fleets have moved on and imports were delivering this sort of efficiency years before. If vehicle demand in Australia had been growing at 30 per cent a year, as it has until recently in China, then even all this might not have mattered. There would have been enough buyers to go around. But, for all the fuss about million-vehicle markets, the reality is the Australian sales graph has been virtually flat since 2004. With the single exception of 2009, when the world plummeted into recession and we bought just 937,000 vehicles, the total has varied less than 5 per cent either side of a million. It's one reason why every brand complains constantly about the level of competition and, even at the luxury level, deals are the order of the day. If one maker grows volume, it's at the expense of someone else. However, there's a reason why they're all here: Australia is a mature market where they can operate for a modest commitment (many use distributors) and still make money. One of the main reasons is the luxury car tax, which adds thousands to the cost of vehicles above $59,133 and puts an artificial floor under prices. As the threshold for the tax rises with vehicle CPI, and that's barely moving, each year it casts a wider net. In effect, it's a non-tariff trade barrier that means the locals can charge more for their cars than would otherwise be the case. Despite this, and hundreds of millions of dollars in government support each year, still they cannot compete. This year only one in every eight vehicles bought will have been made in Australia. In large sedans, our local carmakers backed the wrong horse. And now there's no way back.  

The Boxster is no longer the little brother of the Porsche family. It's more substantial, more polished and has more ability than before.Porsche has been testing the limits of buyer fidelity recently with the most thorough overhaul of its signature sportscar, the 911, since it appeared five decades ago.DESIGNThe new 911 is larger, more comfortable and some raw edges have been smoothed away. But the 911 revisions haven't triggered an identity crisis; its distinguishing features are intact. With Porsche's junior sportscar, the Boxster, there's more room for doubt.This roadster won critical acclaim after being drafted into the team in the 1990s. It came on as a sub and salvaged the company's financial results. Still a teenager next to the 911, it has earned a permanent place in the squad and so for its first complete makeover, Porsche has done more to the Boxster than to the 911."This is no longer the little brother,'' technical expert Paul Watson said "It's really grown up. ''Hardly a dimension carries over, with the new 981 Boxster longer by more than 3cm overall and 6cm in the wheelbase.It has wider tracks, especially the front, shorter overhangs, and a lower roof while the windscreen is set further forward and raked more acutely. The result is a car that looks a lot different and is clearly influenced by the Carrera GT, Porsche's mid-engined supercar from the noughties.It's a crisper shape, which avoids the push-me-pull-you look of the previous car, in which the front and rear were too similar. As with other Porsches, the cabin gets the Carrera GT's angled centre console and it's just as good here, with a corresponding lift in the overall quality of the cabin.TECHNOLOGYLike last time, there's some engineering overlap with the 911. The two cars are the same underneath up to the A-pillars, although this Boxster gets more unique panels, such as the doors. Specific to the roadster is an increase in overall rigidity by 40 per cent and a redesigned roof.This opens in just 9 seconds, has larger rear glass and no longer has a metal cover when lowered. Instead, the fabric incorporates one solid magnesium panel so that when folded, the roof aligns with the bodywork.Roof up, cabin noise has been halved. Like the 911, the Boxster has become more civilised. Porsche also addressed the problems of weight and efficiency in the same way it did in the 911. So the body is no longer just steel but a mix of steel and almost 50 per cent aluminium.Its centre of gravity is lower and weight has been trimmed by 25-35kg so that it comes in at under 1.4 tonnes -- substantially less than the Audi TTS Roadster, BMW Z4 35is and Mercedes SLK 350.That gives it a head start on efficiency, which is reinforced in the engine bay with direct injection, energy recuperation, thermal management and idle-stop, among other features. The result is a 15 per cent improvement.Both engines gain a smidgin more power and develop their peak outputs higher in the rev range. The 3.4 is a version of the previous engine while the 2.7-litre downsizes the previous 2.9. It loses 10Nm of torque, but what's there is more accessible. The six-speed manual transmission carries over while the double-clutch automatic is still a seven-speed.DRIVINGPerformance improvements are modest but neither car is a slouch, with the slowest Boxster manual reaching 100km/h in 5.8s and the fastest S automatic with launch control achieving 4.8s and recording a sub-eight minute Nurburgring lap time, an improvement of 12 seconds.They sound fantastic and the 2.7 feels good until you sample the mid-range and top-end of the 3.4. Other changes include revised suspension geometry, bigger wheels and brakes, and access (at a price) to Porsche's entire suite of dynamic trickery, including active suspension, torque vectoring and a limited slip diff.The Boxster follows the 911 in switching to electric steering and an electric park brake, while the rear spoiler becomes a proper wing instead of the previous air dam. Prices rise a little but the pay-off is a more confident car. It feels tight and rigid on the road, with little suggestion that the open-top design has involved dynamic compromise. It steers well, has the same excellent balance and minimal unwanted body movement.At the same time, it hasn't lost one of its most endearing qualities: its forgiving nature. So it's more substantial, more polished and has more ability than before. Yet it doesn't feel like a different carOnly this time it can beat its rivals on more than just dynamics. It's the one I'd pick. The Porsche revamp of its sportscars still has a long way to go. It will include for the Boxster a four-cylinder turbocharged engine that will lower the price of entry and give Porsche some welcome volume in its core business. Meanwhile, it expects this Boxster to repeat the success of the original, meaning 350 sales a year here.VERDICTCarmakers often complain that brand loyalty ain't what it used to be. But Porsche is the tectonic plate of carmakers when it comes to big shifts. Slow but sure. Maybe other brands only have themselves to blame.RANGEBoxster $107,500 (manual), $112,800 (automatic)Boxster S: $133,800 (manual), $139,100 (automatic)2012 Porsche BoxsterPrice: From $107,500Crash rating: not availableEngines: 195kW/280Nm 2.7-litre; 232kW/360Nm 3.4-litreBody: 2-door, 2 seats.Transmission: 6-speed manual, 7-speed PDK; rear-wheel-drive

The smallest vehicle segment, or light, as it's known, is a bit of a grab-bag. It ranges from the Chery J1, a Chinese import for $10,990 cross-your-fingers-driveaway, to the Fiat Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari at the we-saw-you-coming price of $69,990.But desirable badges are beginning to crack the 4m-long formula. The Audi A1, Mini, Alfa Romeo Mito, Citroen DS3 and Renault Clio all have at least one version with a performance slant.However, they are all three-door cars. If you want five doors and a European pedigree, the options narrow considerably. Until recently there was only one: the Volkswagen Polo GTI. Since it arrived a couple of years ago, it has been almost as critically acclaimed as the Golf GTI, its bigger brotherNow it has been joined by the Skoda Fabia RS, and there are a couple of reasons why the Czech badge might steal a few buyers from Veedub. Chief among them is the fact that Volkswagen owns Skoda and the two share technology. This strategy is known as platform sharing and Volkswagen is its leading exponent.Volkswagen uses essentially the same engineering not only for itself and Skoda, but also for Audi and SEAT, which is not sold here. What that means is that Audis are essentially expensive Volkswagens while Skodas are bargains.VALUEThe RS wagon is $29,990, a $2000 premium over the hatch, and is a rarity at this end of the market if you can live with its dumpy looks. The hatch, on the other hand, has pleasing proportions and pulls the Mini trick of offering different roof colours and other personalisation tricks.Although a Mini-with-the-lot is a lot more expensive, the RS doesn't miss much with LEDs, 17-inch alloys, shiny pedals, leather trim, dual-zone air, six airbags and Bluetooth.TECHNOLOGYBut the engine and transmission are the same as the current model, meaning 132kW from a 1.4-litre four-cylinder that has double forced induction. A supercharger ensures plenty of torque at low revs, then once the engine gets going a turbocharger takes over. So it's drivable without any strain, since 250Nm of torque arrives at just 2000rpm. (Those outputs, by the way, are only slightly shy of the Mercedes E200, which develops 135kW and 270Nm.)DRIVINGThe cabin, even with sports seats, is functional and fairly sombre. There's an absence of the pitch-to-youth design that mars some light cars. But it's a pleasing place to be, just the same. As far as its underpinnings go, it borrows from the previous generation Polo and is slightly narrower, shorter and lower than its Volkswagen equivalent.At just 1.25 tonnes, the RS can reach 100km/h in a respectable 7.3 seconds while burning just 6.2 litres per 100km. Because it's heavier than the Polo GTI, it's also slightly slower and thirstier. But it would still take a long time to recoup the extra $1000 in the GTI's starting price.To drive it's not as engaging and rewarding as some performance hatches, with remote steering and a slightly perched-on-suspension feel to the way it tackles challenging roads.But as the runabout companion to the weekend warrior in your double garage, it's the sort of downsizing that makes sense.Skoda Fabia  RSPrice: from $27,990 (hatchback) to $29,990 (wagon)Warranty: 3 year roadsideEngine: 1.4-litre 4-cyl petrol supercharged & turbo 132kW/250NmDimensions: 4247mm (L); 1642 (W); 1494 (H) / 4029mm (L); 1642 (W); 1492 (H)Weight: 1248kg/1253kgTransmission: 7-speed automaticThirst: 7.7L/100km; 148g/km Co2

The modern car that most closely resembles a classic gangster staff car comes from Chrysler. Its 300C, sold here from 2006, had the face and proportions of a 21st-century Capone-mobile. It offered something different to the Fords and Holdens made here and pinched some of their turf.Back then it was a gnat-bite. Large sedans commanded 140,000 buyers a year in 2006 and the 300C sold a total of 7000 over five years.Now Chrysler is back with a new version and boss Clyde Campbell thinks it can do better this time. Two to three times better. "That segment (large sedans) hasn't received good press for 10 years,'' he says. "We think there's a way to make it work.''Campbell believes the 300 -- this time the "C'' denotes just one of three trim levels -- can do for the near-dormant Chrysler brand what the Grand Cherokee has done for Jeep, another member of the group. It's been selling its socks off.The strategy is similar: load it up with gear and sell it at a super-aggressive price. The entry 300 gets a new 3.6-litre petrol V6 teamed with an eight-speed automatic -- unknown at this level -- for $43,000.That's line ball with a Commodore SV6 and below a Falcon G6E. The flagship SRT8, with a 6.4-litre V8, big brakes and track pedigree, is $66,000. An HSV Clubsport with auto is $70,000 while an FPV Falcon GT is more than $71,000. On value they'll be hard-pressed to match the 300 because it's a lot of car for the money.A great big gateau of a car, in fact, at more than 5m long and weighing about two tonnes. In top-spec SRT8 trim it gets 20-inch wheels, huge leather seats, heated or cooled everything, and a control screen IMAX would envy.The sound system boasts no fewer than 19 speakers. Some kit, such as blind spot monitoring or forward collision alert, is not yet available on the locals. The base car misses out on leather, which feels essential in this car, but still gets park sensors, a reversing camera, power seats and auto lamps.So there's a lot of icing on this cake but in engineering terms, it was baked the day before yesterday. The underpinnings were borrowed from Mercedes when Daimler was running Chrysler, and there are bits from the previous generation E-Class and an even older S-Class.The five-speed transmission is also a vestige of that period and it remains the only option if you want the 3.0-litre diesel or V8, and both these engines are developments of the previous units. The parking brake is old-tech foot-operated.The design has been refreshed and the cabin is a big lift in terms of material quality and sound insulation. However, interior space is modest for a car this size, with adequate rather than generous space in the rear.The sunroof, if fitted, crimps head room in the front and the boot, at 462 litres, is smaller than the locals. Fit and finish is nothing special either.The big V8, upgraded from the previous 6.1, sounds the part and has a thirst to match, with consumption of 13.0 litres per 100km on average. That's despite being able to shut down four pistons when cruising.The V6s were sampled on a slightly drier road loop. The diesel is the economy champ, of course, at 7.1l/100km, and there's nothing equivalent in the Falcon-Commodore. It can sound coarse at idle but it's quiet on the move, with ample torque to lug the 300.However, the 3.6 petrol would be my pick out of the two V6s; with its strong mid-range it can handle the car's mass and has a great soundtrack. It also has the advantage of a very smooth eight-speed automatic and on 20-inch wheels achieves 9.7l/100km economy, which at least puts it in the same ball park as the locals.The hoodlum in me warmed to the menace of the original's exterior design; this one just looks odd. Today's gangsters have moved on. Anyone who has seen a television series such as The Wire knows their preferred wheels are enormous SUVs with tinted windows and chrome rims.Crims are just like the rest of us -- they've switched out of large sedans. The exterior design has lost its clarity. Its chin protrudes and the headlights have become generic. The SRT8 has a clumsy spoiler extension to the boot lid.Phillip Island racetrack was the launch venue for the SRT8, which struggled to apply its 347kW in wet and slippery conditions. Any wayward throttle brought the stability control into play and I was tiptoeing through corners.The SRT8's lowered performance suspension and track tuning failed to disguise its weight. This is not something you want to push around a rainy Phillip Island. It would have been a different beast in the dry.Chrysler believes sub-5.0 second 0-100km/h times are possible when the sun shines. I recorded 5.7 seconds on one damp run and the wheels spun for a fortnight.On those huge rims the ride is a bit detailed and fussy. Although the suspension has been tweaked and body stiffened, the 300 still feels ponderous when the roads get twisty. There's nothing alert about the way it changes direction and I was never certain when it was going to settle into a corner.The steering and pedals are fine, but pressing on in either V6 requires concentration. In this respect, and most others, this 300 feels like an evolution of the previous car. It's better and it's cheaper, but essentially the same beast.