Archive for May, 2014
Czech Mate: Skoda Octavia Ambition Plus sedan.
Octavia: younger sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus. Skoda: younger sister of the automotive giant, Volkswagen. Together they’ve come up with a surprisingly capable vehicle with a definite Ambition to be seen. A Wheel Thing says hello to the Czech based manufacturer for the first time and likes the first impressions of the Ambition Plus sedan.
Physically it is a decent sized vehicle, it’s just shy of 4.7 metres in length with a 1.8m width and stands just under a metre and a half tall. 
Under the test car’s bonnet is a seemingly small 1.4L turbocharged petrol engine, 
with 103kW and 250 Newton metres of torque. It’s this figure that comes into play with a weight of just 1340 kilos (dry) to move. Putting that grunt down to the front wheels (225/45/17) is the job of a seven speed DSG; the close ratios have the Octavia motivating quickly, especially once the stutters of first and second are out of the way. A good prod of the go pedal sees the numbers change quicker than a blink, with the DSG ‘box sliding home gear after gear seamlessly, providing a wave of get up and go, belying the size of the engine. It’s that torque, available from 1500 revs through to 3500, with the tacho flicking up then down on changes, through to the peak power point of 5000rpm keeping things bubbling. Being front wheel drivem it’s partial to the occasional snort of the tyres when provoked yet torque steer is noticeably absent.
The exterior is familiar yet new, with Skoda’s design team stamping their own mark on the VW based chassis. Audi-esque tail lights bookend a smart looking front end, with a chin mounted grille framed by driving lights
underneath the moustachioed main intake grille and slimline, slef adjusting headlights. There’s (in the case of the Ambition Plus) a radar sensor smack bang in the lower middle grille; get too close to a vehicle in front without you using your brakes and wham! the Ambition Plus will take you by surprise and brakes itself. Hard. It’s a smooth, clean sheetmetal with the Octavia, with a well balanced profile and a single crease line at the bottom of the doors. There’s a kickup on the rear seat passenger windows whilst the wheels are trim and tidy looking five spoke alloys.
The interior mix is an oddity; it’s a feeling of mod-tech and 1970s hotel; 
there’s the presence sensing touchscreen for entertainment and engine/gearbox setting changes, parking assistance and sensors butting up against a somewhat dated plastics look on the dash and door trims (piano black and dull, lustreless very dark grey) with the dash itself the old style block design, with no real amalgamation into the doors and a “beige” look to the seat trimmings, being a mix of black and patterned cloth. The seats themselves were comfortable without being spectacular, fully manual in adjustment and had the odd feeling of being seated higher than they looked. The position certainly provides good all round vision, except the wing mirrors are too small for true safety. Cargo space is huge, with the liftback providing both easy access and a cavernous amount of room at well over 500 litres.
There’s a neutral feel through the tiller, with enough subtle feedback to provide road information to the driver, with the steering ratio just a couple of turns or so lock to lock. On the road the suspension is initially compliant, absorbing most smaller ripples and undulations and there’s a definite sensation of tautness underneath, allowing the Octavia to be thrown around without feeling perturbed. On tarmac it feels planted but did seem somewhat twitchy in a cross breeze and coming into an unsealed surface road it understeered dramatically and braking did not really help. The brakes themselves have a good bite, early in pedal travel without feeling grabby and provided a good level of confidence. In profile the Ambition seems to sit high with the 17 inch wheels not looking as if the wheelarches are filled but there’s little noticeable body roll regardless. Acceleration, as mentioned, is rapid once the turbo has spooled up bhowever the DSG ‘box did tend to hold fourth in certain driving conditions and was somewhat buzzy while doing so. Economy is quoted at around 5.9L/100km and A Wheel Thing saw little that would dispute that claim.
Skoda offers capped price servicing, with service intervals 12 months or 15000 kilometres, whichever comes first, complementing the sharp pricing. The range starts at just under $23000 with the Ambition Plus kicking off at $26790 driveaway (at the time of writing) plus $475 for metallic paint. The supplied car came with the optional Tech Pack (push button stop/start, cruise control and more) taking the price to a lick over $31K.
It’s a good car but suffers from being largely unseen on Aussie roads; that’s a shame because it’s roomy enough for the average family, drives well enough for the average punter and is keenly priced with a decent amount of equipment. Go here for more information: http://www.skoda.com.au/models/octavia/
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Misplaced Accent From Hyundai
It’s a sad, sad, situtation, sang Elton John, about what I don’t know, however, for A Wheel Thing, it could apply to having a major manufacturer having two cars so very close to each other that one of them is potentially superfluous. Hyundai has the Accent (a nameplate used to deflect hangover angst about the unlamented Excel) and the i30. They’re both very similar, down to the previous model i30 looking almost exactly like the current Accent. A Wheel Thing spent time with the 2014 Accent SR and asks why the Accent is still here. It’s a five door hatch, the SR supplied was in a smooth metallic grey and funky looking alloys inside 195/50/16 Kumho rubber, has LED daylight running lights sweeping around and under the slimline headlights and the long, vertical tail lights that neatly integrate into the sheetmetal and sweep into the roofline underneath a modest spoiler. There’s two solid crease lines,one from atop the front wheel arch and 
running to the reverse light section in the tail lights, the other breaking up the solidity at the bottom of the doors. 
It’s not unattractive, with the ID subtle by having a single SR badge on the hatch lid. At the front there’s the signature, subtle, hexagonal imprint in the design, flanked by a pair of cornering lamps. Lay the profile side by side with the previous i30 and you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re twins. The Accent hatch is 4115mm long x 1700mm wide by 1450mm in height, wheelbase is 2570mm and front/rear track is 1493/1489mm. Under the bonnet is a GDI (gasoline direct injection) 1.6L four potter, offering 103 kilowatts and 167Nm (6300/4850 revs respectively) through a six speed manual (in the test car supplied, auto available) with a slightly lower spec available with the MPI (multi point injection) power plant. It’s a slick gearchange, with no real weight but just enough to give feeling whilst the gate is a touch close with first and third sometimes becoming the gear selected but not wanted; more often than not it was third when I wanted first. 
Clutch is well synchronised in its pressure and pickup point, offering the chance to move the lever quicker through the gate at higher revs. It’s a competent package all round, but the lack of torque is noticed against the 1600 odd kilo gross vehicle weight. Hyundai quotes 6.1L/100 km (combined) from its 43 litre tank, which seems pretty much on the mark. The interior is basic but functional, centred around a matt coat five inch touchscreen for radio and auxiliary inputs. Not unexpectedly, with 
Hyundai’s continuing focus on build quality, it’s ergonomic, a good mix of plastics to the look and touch, with a simple yet effective 
sweeping design to the dash. Aircon controls are the same, simple yet effective, with colour coding for temperature and icons for the speed and direction. The driver’s view is as equally simply effective, with two no nonsense dials for revs and speed bisected by a monochrome LCD display for fuel and temperature with the steering wheel also basic with minimal controls, limited to audio and cruise with Bluetooth phone controls attached
to the buttons around the touchscreen. Seats are cloth trimmed, manually adjusted, well padded yet not as snug on the support to the body. 
Cargo space is considerable for the size, with up to 600L available. On the road the Australian refined suspension is noticeable, with subtle refinements to the McPhersion strut front/torsion bar rear, providing a smooth and refined ride. Powered through some roads that are tight, twisty, off camber, the Accent surprises by being nimble, adhesive, flexible, rarely unflustered by sudden directional changes, absorbing the bumps and transmitting little through to the cabin. Steering input is somewhat numb however, with no real information feeling as if it’s been transmitted back to the driver and brakes haul up the Accent nicely and minimal fuss. The Kumho tyres are fairly quiet on coarse chip road surfaces and the overall feeling is of quiet control.
The reason A Wheel Thing queries the need for the Accent is this: the i30 offers a 1.6L diesel or petrol 1.8L and 2.0L, with the 1.8L not providing that much extra torque or power. Overall dimensions (4300 x 1780 x 1470mm) are again barely different from the Accent; weight is lighter in the Accent (i30 is 1850 kg GVM) and fuel economy really isn’t that much different for the i30, being an extra litre per 100km quoted. The overall feature set in the i30 (http://www.hyundai.com.au/vehicles/i30sr/specification-range isn’t enough to really differentiate apart from a 7 inch screen and some interior design touches. So, Hyundai, why keep the Accent, especially that in your normal passenger range it’s this or the Elantra (another confusing entry to the Hyundai passenger range given the i30’s quality), not the i something nomenclature. With a sedan available in both levels (i30 and Accent) also, the Accents stacks up against the i30 with no seemingly obvious (to A Wheel Thing, at least) need to have it. Regardless, it is a good car and info can be found here: http://www.hyundai.com.au/vehicles/accent/specification—range At the time of writing Hyundai have factory pricing specials so contact your Hyundai dealerfor information.
Any Colour As Long As It’s Black…
There’s a persistent story circulating around the automotive world that Henry Ford said that the original “Tin Lizzie” (Model T Ford) could come in “any colour as long as it’s black.” Certainly, if you catch a glimpse of a lovingly restored (or maintained) Model T at a car show or in a museum, you’re probably going to see a black one.
But did Henry Ford actually say this? Was black really the only colour that traditional Ford cars came in? Sorry to bust everybody’s bubbles of belief, but this is more or less an urban legend. Model Ts didn’t just come in black. Mostly black, yes. But all black, no.
According to one fairly well researched book on automotive history I came across lately, Ford used a number of different colours throughout the years. These days, you get several colour choices for your model, with slightly different colour choices for each different model in the marque. For example, the current line of Ford Fiesta comes in light blue, cobalt blue, white, black, orange, silver, medium grey and red. The Ford Territory, on the other hand, comes in dark red, bronzy brown, three different shades of grey, black, white and blue. Ford used to do this sort of thing right at the start of its production history. In 1909 to 1914, Fords came in red, green, grey or blue.
However, from 1915 to 1926, only one colour was available, mostly as a cost-cutting exercise. Hands up who can think what might have happened in 1915 that required businesses to cut back on costs? Well done to those who answered World War I and extra bonus marks to those who mentioned the influenza pandemic. After these global crises were over and people had a bit more money to burn – and when Ford’s competitors started offering a few more colours – colour came back to the Ford factory floor in Detroit. In 1926, green came along. In 1927, a veritable rainbow rolled off the production lines, with two shades of maroon, four shades of green, brown, blue and grey being on offer, alongside a colour that experts call “moleskin” – which sounds like a sort of black.
The reason why the story about Tin Lizzies coming in “any colour as long as it’s black” is because the main production years for the Model T was in the 1915–1926 period. Model Ts may have been basic black but they were cheap, which made them very, very attractive in the postwar period. They were probably a real godsend for the various social workers of the time across this tricky time: doctors could rush to seriously ill patients quickly with the motor car; vicars, district nurses and the like could do the rounds and bring aid to the folk they were responsible for more efficiently.
As to whether old Henry Ford actually said the thing about any colour blah blah blah, this book I got hold of is silent. He may have done during the black period of the Model T. But it wasn’t company policy or part of the image of the Model T. It wasn’t born to be black from the beginning. And if you’re very, very lucky, you can come across some of the gaudier models out there.
Back to the Future: Ford Signs Off With the Last GT.
Although Ford Australia will cease local manufacturing in the next couple of years, it hasn’t forgotten about its history; with a nostalgic nod to the past, Ford has resurrected, for the final time under Australian making, the iconic GT moniker. There’s also the return of the three fabled numbers, 351. In this case, rather than the brawny 5.8L V8, it’s a supercharged 5.0L with 351 kilowatts. Having said that, the engine will need to rev to a stratsopheric 6000 rpm, just a few hundred more and with some in reserve compared to the carbie fed monster of forty years ago, when GT became a byword for pure, unadulterated grunt.
The one that really fired up the GT legend.
Marketed under the FPV banner, the GT F, as it will be known, has had substantial work performed on its engine and transmission electronic control systems in order to reach that iconic number. 
From Ford:
“To achieve the engine’s landmark output, Ford’s engineering team developed an updated version of its Powertrain Control Module (PCM) software which, combined with a unique calibration strategy and torque management techniques, has provided a number of improvements in engine and vehicle performance while ensuring the vehicle meets Ford’s durability requirements. Specifically, the new software has delivered improved functionality of the boost control system, enabling finer tuning of the supercharger for further optimisation of the power and torque output of the engine. This electronic management has also ensured that while power is improved, no extra load has been placed on the driveline or the engine components themselves, ensuring continued durability.As a result of this fine tuning, maximum torque remains at 570 Nm of torque from 2,500 – 5,500 rpm. However, peak torque is produced for as long as possible throughout the full engine rev range, making the new GT F sedan even more responsive on the road or for track days.”
Seconds to last in a line of legends.
There’s no lack of grip, with 275/35 Dunlop Sports Maxx tyres wrapping 19 inch diameter alloys, plus Ford are adding a launch control feature; braking comes in the form of Brembo 6piston calipers at the front and four pots at the back. The exterior is apparently going to be a “hark back” to the heady days of the 1970s, with a black stealth highlight design to complement the five colour range (white, blue, black, orange and dark grey).
Compared to the now unbelieveably cheap price, for what the original GTHO was, of under $5000, this GT will come with a sticker price of $77990 (plus on roads) however there are rumours that the allocated run of 500 (plus 120 utes) has already been presold.
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