Archive for January, 2018
2018 Suzuki Swift Sport Readies For Release.
It’s been hotly anticipated since Suzuki updated its iconic Swift range for 2017 and now it’s here. The 2018 Suzuki Swift Sport, complete with 1.4L turbocharged petrol engine and six speed manual or auto, is sharply priced at $25490 or $27490.
The BOOSTERJET engine produces 103 kilowatts and 230 Nm of torque, with a quoted fuel consumption of 6.1L/100 km for a combined cycle thanks partly to a weight reduction of eighty kilos compared to the previous model. The auto will come with paddle shifts.
Ride and handling is improved, with a lower and wider stance in the chassis. The Sport will roll on 17 inch polished alloys and will turn night time to day time with LED head lights. There’s also LED daytime running lights, twin chrome tipped exhausts, and a sports body kit comprising rear diffuser, side skirts, and black honeycomb grille.
Inside there’s Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Suzuki’s user friendly seven inch touchscreen with satnav, climate control, Bluetooth and USB sounds connectivity, keyless Start/Stop, and red stitched semi-bucket seats.
The chassis has new safety engineering with TECT, Total Effective Control Technology for greater energy dissipation in the event of an impact. A five star safety rating comes courtesy of six airbags (no driver’s kneebag), stability control, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, and adaptive cruise control.
Outside there’s a choice of five colour choices: Pure White Pearl, Champion Yellow, Super Black Pearl, Mineral Grey and Speedy Blue.
There’s Capped Price Servicing for five years and should a customer ensure their Swift Sport is serviced under that plan, the warranty gets extended from three to five years.
The 2018 Suzuki Swift Sport is available for test drive and orders from your local Suzuki dealership or enquire through here: 2018 Suzuki Swift Sport
What Did People Use Petroleum For Before The Internal Combustion Engine?
Vintage advertisement for benzine-based stain remover.
Petroleum is currently the backbone of the motoring industry, despite the push for alternate fuel sources such as biodiesel, electricity, ethanol, etc. Ever since Karl Benz first invented the internal combustion engine and fitted it to the horseless carriage, vehicles have run on petroleum of some type – apart from a brief period where Diesel engines ran on vegetable oil.
On Bertha Benz’s legendary first long-distance drive in her husband’s new invention, she ran out of fuel and had to stop and pick up more from the nearest pharmacy. It’s easy to just take in that sentence and think what a funny place a pharmacy is to pick up petrol until you stop and think about it: why was a chemist’s shop selling petrol? What on earth were people using it for before we had cars to put it in?
Petroleum has certainly been known for at least four millennia. The name comes from Ancient Greek: petra elaion, meaning “rock oil”, which distinguished it from other sorts of oil such as olive oil, sunflower seed oil and the like. The stuff was coming out of the ground all around the world, and quite a few ancient societies found a use for it.
The most useful form of petroleum back in the days BC (as in Before Cars as well as Before Christ) was bitumen, the sticky variety that we now use for making asphalt for road surfacing. Bitumen (also called pitch or tar) didn’t just stick to things; it was also waterproof. As it was a nice waterproof adhesive, it came in handy for all sorts of things, from sticking barbed heads onto harpoons through to use as mortar – the famously tough walls of the ancient city of Babylon (modern-day Iraq, 2which is still oil-rich) used bitumen as mortar. The Egyptians sometimes used it in the process of mummification, using it as a waterproofing agent. In fact, the word “mummy” is thought to derive from the Persian word for bitumen or petroleum, making mummies the very first petrolheads.
For the next thousand years, petroleum in the form of bitumen was mostly used for waterproofing ships, to the extent that sailors became known as “tars” because they tended to get covered with the stuff. In the 1800s, it was used to make road surface – before there were cars to run on them.
It was probably the Chinese who first had the idea of using petroleum as fuel. “Burning water” was used in the form of natural gas for lighting and heating in homes, and in about 340 AD, they had a rather sophisticated oil well drilling and piping system in place.
The bright idea of refining bitumen to something less sticky and messy first occurred in the Middle East (why are we not surprised?) at some point during the Middle Ages. A Persian alchemist and doctor called Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (aka Rhazes) wrote a description of how to distil rock oil using the same equipment the alchemists used for distilling essential oils. The end result was what we know today as kerosene, and it was a lot more flammable. Kerosene was used for lamps and in heaters, especially as it was a lot cleaner than coal. It was also used in military applications. Naphtha (one of the other early names for petroleum products) was possibly one of the mystery ingredients in Greek fire.
Kerosene and the like really took off during the Age of Coal and the Industrial Revolution, as they were by-products of the coke-refining industry. About this time, scientists started tinkering around with various ways to refine crude oil into products like paraffin and benzene and benzine. Benzene and benzine are not named after Karl and Bertha Benz the way that diesel fuel is named after Rudolf Diesel. These words are actually derived from “benzoin” and benzene was given its official name by yet another German scientist in the early 1800s. The similarity between the surname Benz and the name of the petrol product is pure coincidence – really!
The petrol product (ligroin) that Bertha Benz picked up at the pharmacy was probably sold as a solvent, like the ad in the picture up the top. This was one of the most common household uses of bottled refined petroleum. Petrol is still very good as a solvent and can bust grease like few other things, so it was popular as a stain remover and a laundry product. It might have ponged a bit and you had to be careful with matches, but it was nice and handy, and meant you could get that candle-grease off your suit without putting the whole thing through the wash. Other uses for benzene that sound downright bizarre to us today included getting the caffeine out of coffee to make decaf and aftershave. REALLY don’t try this one at home, even if you love the smell of petrol, as we now know that petrol products are carcinogenic and you should keep them well away from your skin, etc.
It was the widespread use of petroleum-based products such as paraffin in the 1800s that made the demand for whale oil drop dramatically. This happened just in time to stop whales being hunted to extinction. Using petrol was the green thing to do and helped to Save The Whales. Now that whales have been saved and are thriving, cutting down on the use of fossil fuels is the main focus of a lot of environmental groups. Irony just doesn’t seem to cover it.
Korea Goals At Detroit Motor Show
If it’s January it’s Northern American car show time and Detroit stands at front and centre as one of the biggest. It’s a time where the car makers showcase what’s new and the two from Korea have been no different. Kia shows off a new Cerato and Hyundai unveils an updated Veloster.
Kia.
Cerato has received a substantial exterior update and wowee it’s a good looker. It’s sharper, edgier, sports a slimmer grille design and exudes sophistication in bucketloads. In profile it echoes the Stinger, with a longish bonnet and shortish tail proportionally, joined by a deep scallop in the doors. There’s further design cues from the bigger car, with the bonnet sporting a pair of eye-catching creases sitting over the restyled grille and assertive looking lower valance. There’s now two air intakes on either side and house relocated indicators. Headlights with a choice of LED or projection lamps will be available.
The rear has been restyled as well, with LED lights as standard, while the indicators and reverse lamps are separate and located below them. Extra visual appeal has been added with a horizontal bar, similar to that seen on the Sportage, joining the lamp clusters.
Overall length has been increased by over eighty millimetres, taking it to 4640mm. This allows extra leg room and cargo space. Headroom goes up to 1440mm with width just shy of 1800mm. Interior changes start with a redesigned console housing an eight inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Wireless smartphone charging will be made available and Harman Kardon have stepped up to offer a 320 watt sound system. Airvents are inspired by the aeronautic industry and interior finish is increased with softer materials. Seat frame strength has been increased without gaining weight plus denser foam for better support has been fitted.
Underneath the Cerato has extra “hot stamped” components and a higher percentage (54%) high tensile strength steel. The chassis is sixteen percent stiffer as a result, which also aids ride and handling. Suspension changes and upgrades to the brakes have been enabled to provide better feedback.
The engine features an Atkinson cycle and a cooling system for the Exhaust Gas Recycling to help with power and emissions. Kia have also developed their first in-house CVT as well. Combined fuel economy, as a result, drops to 6.7L/100km.
Safety goes up a notch with the inclusion of Blind Spot Collision Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, Forward Collision Avoidance and Smart Cruise Control.
The new Cerato is due for Australia towards the end of 2018 and full specs and pricing will be made available then.
Hyundai.
Hyundai’s evergreen example of quirkiness, the Veloster, has been transformed thanks to a massive reworking to the exterior. With style cues shared with the i30’s update, the Veloster retains its unique 2+1 door configuration yet looks fresh and new. It looks lower, flatter, sharper as well, with a longer bonnet balanced by a more emphasised rear quarter curve. The overall look is more purposeful and muscular.
The grille is enlarged and enhanced, with LED headlights to be available along with LED driving lights. LED tail lights will also be available. Wheels are 18 inches in diameter and do a better job of filling in the wheel arches. The rear air diffuser is more pronounced and is bracketed by exhaust tips with a “phatter” look.
The previously V shaped motif style in the interior is gone, replaced by a classier look and feel yet retains the driver’s cockpit ethic. With the Turbo model a difference in colours highlights the driver’s section further.
Engine wise, the 2.0L petrol engine also gets the Atkinson Cycle, with peak power and torque sitting on 110kW and 179Nm, albeit at a high 4500 rpm. Transmission will be either a six speed manual or six speed auto. The Turbo engine is a smaller yet more potent beast, with a 1.6L capacity delivering 159kW and a flat torque figure of 264Nm from 1500 to 4500 rpm plus an overboost that raises torque by 10Nm. The six speed manual will be offered alongside a seven speed dual clutch auto with both transmissions designed in-house. There’s even a new audio feedback system that pipes intake and exhaust sounds to the cabin in an effort to further enhance the driving experience.
Torque Vectoring Control will be standard on Veloster and will partner with a revised steering ratio and calibration for better handling. Along with 18 inch alloys and Michelin Pilot Sport rubber the Veloster should take all a driver can throw at it and more.
Safety will come from a similar equipment list to the Cerato, with Forward Collision Assist, Blind Spot Warning, Driver Attention Warning, and Rear Cross Traffic Warning. A rear view camera with guidelines will be standard across the range. There’s six airbags as standard which means the driver’s kneebag will not be on board.
Entertainment comes from the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto enabled touchscreen with international spec models receiving satellite radio and HD audio upgrades. A Head Up display may be available for the Aussie market also as will wireless charging. Again, pricing and specifications will be made available closer to release.
Private Fleet Car Review: 2018 Peugeot 2008 Allure
Peugeot continues to build upon its century plus of automotive building with a update to its smaller SUV, the 2008 series. It’s available in Australia in three trim levels; Active, Allure, and GT Line. I spend three weeks with the mid range Allure.
There’s some good pricing on the range too. The Active starts at a list price of $25490 for a final driveaway price of $29230. The Allure slots in neatly at $32865 driveaway and the GT Line rounds out at $35420 driveaway. These prices are on 2017 plated models. (Contact Private Fleet to see what we can do for you…)
It’s not a big ‘un, the 2008. At 4159mm in length it’s right in there with cars such as the Audi Q2 or Holden Trax. Still, Peugeot squeeze in a 2158mm wheelbase, meaning leg room front and rear is at least adequate for most. With an overall (including mirrors) width of 2004mm there’s hip and shoulder room of of over 1300mm. At the rear the cargo space is roomy enough at 410L (measured to the window line) and goes up to 917L with the same measurement.
Motorvation is courtesy of an award winning turbocharged three cylinder petrol engine with Euro 6 emissions compliance. It’s a miserly 1.2L in capacity and is just as miserly in its consumption of dinosaur juice. Peugeot says the combined cycle is 4.8L per 100 km from the 50L tank. Although it’s mated to a six speed dual clutch auto and a drive mode system for soft roading, it’s unlikely to see such environments so the quoted 6.0L/100km is more reasonable. We finished on 7.2L/100km. There’s Start/Stop and it’s virtually seamless in re-engaging from Stop mode.
Given its size you’d be forgiven for thinking it would struggle moving the (tare weight) 1188kg 2008 around. Not so, comparatively. There’s a reasonable 81 kilowatts on board, but there’s a very handy 205 torques on tap at 1500 rpm. Even though Peugeot quotes a plus ten second time to 100 km/h it doesn’t feel as if it struggles to do so. Although the DCT suffers from the same gremlins just about every DCT does, being that seemingly yawning chasm between selecting Drive and forward motion, it’s otherwise near faultless, with crisp changes, quiet changes, and allows that rorty three cylinder to let you know it’s enjoying life.
It’s also responsive enough, once under way, with kick-down and acceleration going hand in hand. Out on the flat it’ll slide into D5 easily enough and seems geared well enough to be content there. D6 was seen once the computer had declared speed and engines revs were suitable. It will then cruise along nicely and with no stress. Naturally there’s cruise control but if you’re a driver you’ll enjoy the interaction between foot, throttle, foot, brake as the 2008 reaches out and reminds you that fun is part of its nature.
Ride quality from the Goodyear Vector 205/50/17 directional tread rubber is pretty good although the front will squeal with protest as it’s pushed hard into turns. The suspension seems tuned more for initial hardness before softening up. and it’s the upper rate that has body movement from the Allure. It can be jittery on rutted and unsettled tarmac and does have a propensity to skip sideways if even in a slight turn. It’ll pull down from undulations with just the slightest extra rebound, will allow a slow run over a shopping centre speed bump well enough yet will bump hard over the tarmac style ones.
Quality inside the 2008 was high. The plastics have a good look and feel, from the dash to the door trims with a carbon fibre and heat retaining alloy mix, from the seven inch touchscreen layout to the trim surrounding that and to the leather bound paddle shaped parking brake. The indicator stalk is on the left and pressing the button at the end engages voice activation. Oddly, though, it’s a key start, not remote.
Cruise control is that seemingly peculiar to Euro brands separate stalk off the steering column and that also includes a speed limit alert. There’s a downside and that’s the tinny thunk as the doors are closed.The slightly chunky yet easy to hold tiller is typical Peugeot in that it sits below the binnacle, which itself is LED framed, shining a delightful blue. 
The dials themselves are clean and easy to read, and there’s a monochrome screen in the middle with speed, distance and the like. Seats are (optional at $2200) leather and heated only; again, that’s a huge oversight in the Australian market, especially with the car being tested through some of the hottest weather seen in some time. But, if it makes any difference, there’s two 12V sockets. And the Allure came with alloy door scuffs even though the brochure says they’re GT Line only. An optional full length glass roof was fitted and you can option the Peugeot LED Track that’s embedded in the laser cut headlining.
Exterior design is a highlight with Peugeot expanding the elements that made the previous version a handsome looker. The taillights have a more defined claw motif, especially at night thanks to LEDs. The headlights with LED running lights bracket a more upright and enhanced grille, with the headlights gaining the shark fin protrusion as well.
Front fog lights will pivot at night as well. The overall presence is smooth, almost organic, in appeal. Part of that comes from the alloy look full length roof rails and roof lid spoiler balanced by the black body mouldings. The Platinum Grey metallic paint is a $590 option.
The test car came fitted with a full length glass roof (a $1000 option), and some decent safety tech including Active City Brake, Peugeot’s term for autonomous braking. Emergency hazard light activation under heavy braking is on board, the Allure and GT Line get City Park which is self parking and parking entry/exit assistance, six airbags (no driver’s kneebag) and hill start brake assist.
At The End Of The Drive.
Peugeot’s reinvention of its ranges of cars is paying off. The 2008 is extraordinary fun, even allowing for the delay in clutch bite inside the DCT. Once it’s hooked up, it goes and goes well, and does so with the appeal of elegance as seen from outside. It’s a smooth and flowing design that matches the chic interior.
Peugeot Australia has your info right here: 2018 Peugeot 2008 range
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