Aussie Motoring

Motoring journalists do not have an easy job. You might think that there would better job than driving around in new cars all the time. But it must be so difficult to remain objective about each individual car when you do that all the time.

I mean how can you remain objective about a Kia Sorento as you drive it this week when the car you drove last week was a Lancer Evolution?

Despite those problems most motoring writers in Australia do manage to remain objective and that’s why it’s interesting to see what some motoring journos consider to be the worst cars of 2005.

Kia Sorento - Stephen Scorby considered that calling the Sorento a lemon was an insult to citrus fruit and suggested that the car was made out of egg cartons and pipe cleaners

Kia Sportage - Paul Pottinger found that both he and Stephen Scorby became highly agitated when they tackled their first roundabout in a Sportage.

Nissan Pathfinder - Samantha Stevens found that driving the Pathfinder reminded her of driving a tractor with a flat tyre. (Now having actually done that makes me wonder whether any vehicle certified safe to use on our roads could really be that bad)

Holden Barina - Isaac Bober decided that the Daewoo sourced Barina was a huge disappointment and a “pathetic imitation” of what the market once loved back in the beep beep Barina days.

I don’t know about those vehicles, I haven’t driven any of them yet, but I began to find that my Hyundai Grandeur XG started to suck majorly as soon as it ran out of warranty in March this year. It was then that I realised that the Grandeur wasn’t really a car but more a collection of very expensive spare parts that moved along the road in very close proximity to each other.

Few of us think much about the car seats that we sit in; as long as they remain comfortable our thoughts focus on other aspects of our car. But the design and development of car seats is very important to car manufacturers because they know that how the seat in their latest showroom models feels when a prosptective buyer slips into the driver’s or passenger’s seat has an almost subliminal impact on whether or not a sale will be made.

So it should come as no surprise to you that the front seats of cars have gradually been becoming wider over the years. As westerners grow bigger with each passing year so the width of the seat grows too.

For example, the 2006 Honda Civic has front seats that are several millimetres wider than the 2005 model. The Lancer Evolution sold in America has front seats that are slightly wider than the same vehicle sold in Japan.

Market research in the US has shown that wider car seats are becoming much more important now that 62% of adults are considered to be overweight or obese.

You can read the full story here.

I have the good fortune to live in Hervey Bay, one of the most beautiful spots on the planet and a magnet for backpackers from all over the world.

Some backpackers come by bus, some come by air, a few probably even walk but the most noticeable of all come by Wicked Camper.

I’ve often seen these campers around town and finally today I managed to grab a photo of one

The message on this van is fairly mild when compared to some that I’ve seen but it still managed to attract a lot of attention.

Wicked Campers have their own website at http://www.wickedcampers.com.au and you’ll see just how wicked you can get in one of these campers with attitude.

These campers are definitely not aimed at the average family or even a couple of retired oldies. Instead they’re aimed at backpackers who want to travel in style. While the vans could not be described as luxurious they certainly are well equipped for up to three people who like to sleep cosy

Wicked Campers have depots spread throughout Australia and their rates are very reasonable.

Edit - Update and a link to the first online review of the Nissan Tiida

The Nissan Pulsar is about to become yesterday’s car with the release in February of the Nissan Tiida. Shoppers in major shopping centres in Sydney are already getting a preview of the new sedan as preview cars go on display through December and January.

If you’re not in Sydney here are a few preview pics of the new sedan andhatch.

And you can see more of the advanced features of the Tiida at the Nissan Tiida website

‘A what?’ I can hear you say.

If a two door coupe doesn’t appeal to you what about a Haoqing, a Merrie, a Uliou or a Maple?

These are all vehicles manufactured by Geely a Chinese car manufacturer that has the US market firmly in its sites.

Geely commenced business in China in 1986 as a manufacturer of fridges and motorcyle parts and it moved into the car industry when it bought a company that produced minivans.

Today it’s confident that it can retail a five seat passenger sedan that will comply with all US emission and safety laws for under $10,000.

Of course the Beauty Leopard will retail for more because it has a a built-in karoke machine.

I can hardly wait.

When you want performance, looks and the right price then the VW Polo GTI is the car for you.

For $26,990 you get a two door sedan with a GTI badge on the back and the performance under the bonnet to match the GTI tag.

Production of the VW Polo range is shared between South Africa and Spain but the GTI comes from entirely from Spain. The base model Polo comes with a 1.4 litre petrol engine but the the GTI is turned into a pocket rocket with a 1.8 letre turbocharged motor.

That turbocharged motor lifts the Polo from 0-100km/h in 8.2 seconds and gives it a top speed of over 200 km/h. It runs on premium unleaded fuel and returns an excellent 7.9 litres per 100km.

Standard equipment includes airconditioning, cruise control, stability control, six airbags and more.

You can read a full review of the VW Polo GTI here

Sometimes the reasoning of the people at the top of some of the world’s motor companies is a little hard to follow and the Chairman of General Motors Holden is definitely one of those whose reasoning seems to be a little strange.

One the one had he sais that during 2005 the world car market has been fragmenting and small manufacturers were challenging the big manufacturers with new models in new categories. And in almost the next breath he says that car manufacturers will have to produce fewer vehicles but with more model variety.

At the same time as he is saying that over in the US the major car manufacturers are facing a sales slump. Experts suggest that one of the factors in that sales slump is the huge range of models that the major manufacturers have been offering.

If too many models is bad for the industry in the United States why is it the solution for the industry in Australia?

It sure beats me.

The Honda Motor Company has announced plans to expand their operations in India. Currently 30,000 units are year are produced at Honda’s Indian plants and the planned expansion will allow that figure to rise to 50,000 a year.

Currently Honda produce the City ZX and the Civic in India

A jury of influential motoring writers from 12 Eastern European countries has voted the Kia Rio winner of the prestigious ‘Autobest 2006’ award for being ‘the new car most suitable for the needs of the population of the region, thoroughly modern with new technology and affordable to buy.’

Announcing the 2006 winner, Autobest Chairman Mr. Dan Vardie commented, “This year’s competition was very tight, and the Kia Rio emerged as the winner thanks to its fantastic value for money, great versatility, and the important strides made by Kia in developing an excellent dealer network across all of Europe.”

With a total score of 706 points, the Kia Rio comfortably surpassed its shortlisted contenders — the Ford Focus (659), Renault Clio (599), Chevrolet Spark (467; known as Matiz in some markets) and Suzuki Swift (449) — to claim the crown. The 2006 shortlist of finalists was selected after each jury member proposed five all-new models they regarded as the ‘best’ cars of the year that cost less than €15,000.

“The Autobest 2006 award for the Kia Rio is a splendid achievement for the growing Kia brand,” commented Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Motors Europe. “Jury members from the emerging Eastern European countries have given our B-Segment newcomer the strongest possible endorsement as the ideal car for motorists in this region.”

Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice-President and COO of Kia Motors Corporation stated, “This award marks the first time an Asian car maker has been awarded a car of the year distinction by Autobest in the ‘emerging markets’ of Europe, which clearly demonstrates that Kia is in tune with the needs of the European customers and committed to expansion throughout our largest overseas market.”

Established in 2001, the ‘Autobest Among Emerging Markets’ group is the leading motoring organization in Central and Eastern Europe. The 12 countries taking part in Autobest are Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Romania, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine. These countries represent a total market of more than 200 million people, and the Autobest program is now considered the second-largest independent annual European motoring assessment activity after the European Car of the Year (COTY) award.

Each judge from the 12-strong Autobest jury has up to 240 points they can allocate across 13 ‘criteria zones’ under which the candidate cars are assessed. The cars are rated for Interior, Exterior, Handling, Dynamics, Comfort, Technology, Versatility, Safety, Fuel Economy, Environment, Spare Parts, Distributors and Price.

Previous winners were the Dacia Logan (2004), Fiat Panda (2003) and Citroen C3

Hyundai’s Getz has reclaimed the title of Australia’s Best Small Car - its second win in three years - in the annual Australia’s Best Cars awards, the car industry’s most rigorous and comprehensive rating regime run by all the state Royal Automobile Clubs and the NRMA.

In the Large (formerly Family) Car class, mostly the preserve of the locally built ‘big sixes’, the new Sonata V6 Elite almost claimed an upset win with a very close second placing.

The Getz 1.6 3-door manual topped the 15 models in the Small Car class, displacing Fiesta and outranking VW Polo, Suzuki Swift and Honda Jazz.

Even Accent, winner in 2000 and 2001 and in the final year of its current model life, came in sixth, ahead of the new Kia Rio, Mitsubishi Colt, Renault Clio, Mazda2 and Toyota Echo.

Getz rated consistently highly in almost all 19 criteria across the three broad areas of Value-for-Money, Design & Function, and On-Road Performance, scoring the top ‘well above average’ ranking for Pricing, Running & Repair Costs, Warranty and - thanks to its strong resale value - Depreciation, the biggest single real cost of car ownership.

Other Getz strengths rating ‘above average’ were Fuel Economy despite its bigger and more powerful 1.6 litre engine, Environment (ie its star rating in the federal government’s Green Vehicle Guide), Space, Ergonomics, Ride comfort and Refinement (smoothness & quietness).

It was noted that Getz 1.6 is the most affordable car on the market to offer as standard the potentially life-saving features of ABS with EBD (electronic brakeforce distribution), plus rear disc brakes, active front head restraints and non-distracting steering wheel audio controls.

Chief Judge of the Australia’s Best Car Awards, Ernest Litera said: “A commitment to small car affordability is Hyundai’s greatest strength and hands the Getz its award-winning edge for 2005.

“The company’s top-selling three-door Getz is a standout on stemming losses at resale time and for its feats in running and repair costs.

“Even though Getz now gets along with a bigger 1.6 litre engine, its gearbox has been changed to keep fuel economy at a penny-pinching 6.2 litres/100km in manual versions.

“In a category well known for its noise levels and buzzy engines, Getz is gifted at dismissing din while its cosseting ride is a rung above for bump absorption”, Mr Litera said.

The Getz win was Hyundai’s fourth Australia’s Best Small Car title in the six-year year history of the national Australia’s Best Car Awards, the Getz also having won in 2003 and Accent in 2000 and 2001.

The winning Getz model is the 1.6 three-door, priced from a recommended $14,490 while the Sonata V6 is just $29,990 and the V6 Elite $34,490.

The awards are judged by the road test experts in the nation’s most authoritative, consumer-focused automotive voice - all seven state and territory road service motoring clubs, the NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RACWA, RAASA, RACT and the AANT.

The clubs, which have a combined membership of over 6.3 million motorists - close to a third of Australia’s total population - assessed all new cars offered on sale in Australian showrooms during the 12 months from mid October 2004 to October 13, 2005, not just newcomers released in that time.