Archive for May, 2015
Private Fleet Car Review: 2016 Subaru Outback 3.6L.
Australia has had a love affair with station wagons for decades; sadly, new Aussie made wagons will cease in 2017 when Holden closes local manufacturing. Happily, there’s still wagon options available and Subaru’s evergreen Outback is a classy choice for the discerning driver. A Wheel Thing’s garage had the company of this classic for a week.
Powersource.
3.6L. Horizontally opposed “boxer” engine. 191 kilowatts at 6000 revs and 350 torques at 4400. Economy levelled out at 8.5L per 100 in predominantly suburban driving (Subaru quotes 7.5L highway, 9.9L combined and an exceptionally unhealthy 14.2L per 100 km urban, from a 1700 kg wagon!) The fuel tank is 60L in size and can be filled with 91RON.
The transmission is a CVT, a constant variable tranmission, allowing the Outback 3.6L to run to 100 klicks in around eight seconds. You can choose to shift manually via paddles at the rear of the steering wheel, with six programmed shift points to choose from.
The Suit.
There’s just over 21 cm of ground clearance to play with; the wagon body has been given the polyurethane add-on treatment, with front, rear and sill panels copping a lashing of black, allowing some good softroading thanks to the height and extra panel safety.
The extra sheetmetal at the rear allows some usable cargo room, at 512 litres with the seats up and a gargantuan 1801 with the seats down. Staying with the rear, the tail light design echoes the sedan’s design plus continues the curve on the leading edge of the cluster. Both ends also get a aluminuim strip in the centre.
The front features the Outback’s traditional look, with globe lit driving lights pushed to each bottom corner and surrounded by acres of plastic. The redesigned front features a smaller (and far better looking) head light cluster, with a more integrated shape, trimming the overly edgy shape the previous model suffered.
Atop the Outback is a pair of rails, giving the wagon a total height of 1675 mm; with a total length of 4815 mm and width of 1840, sitting on a wheelbase of 2745mm, it’s a larger car than the metal makes it look.
On The Inside.
Subaru have taken a soft broom to the interior; soft touch plastics, supple leather and its usual ergonomic approach add up for a classy look. Starting at the rear, there’s that aforementioned cavern for a cargo space, accessed via a powered tailgate. Adding to the class is a memory function, to store the level of height the ‘gate opens to.
Seats.
Although heated (not cooled) and comfortable they lack support, to the side and underneath. There’s a feeling of sitting on, not in, them, and the lack of bolstering leaves an average sized person feeling as if they may slide left or right. Both driver and passenger seats are electrically operated in eight directions. At the Premium and 3.6L level, the squabs are perforated for that luxury look.
Rear Seats.
There’s a flat fold and 60/40 split ability, with the folding operated by a simple pull lever mechanism. The centre section naturally offers a fold out arm rest and drink holder. All four doors also have a bottle holder, as does the centre console.
Interior Design.
The driver and front passenger face a dash and upper console that is a subtle yet effective revamp of the previous (fifth) generation. Subaru have amortised costs by giving the same look across the range, immediately inviting a sense of familiarity. The driver’s display is clean, highlighted by that cobalt blue backlighting. An information screen shows on the fly fuel economy, any warning systems such as Lane Departure or Collision Avoidance (via the much vaunted Eyesight system), trip and distance.
The aircon system works and works well, with the Mode button cycling from defrost to footwell without the need, as in another brand, to press the same button to deselect the airflow direction. The quibble with the display is the oversized, in comparison, temperature display to the clock and outside temperature.
It’s a black look to the lower half of the cabin, yet it’s neither claustrophobic or excessively dominated by the colour, as the upper half is an off white shade, providing a pleasant contrast and airy feeling, plus a sunroof gives that little bit extra.
Subaru offer, depending on model, two different interior trims for the plastics, in this case the Premium is loaded up with piano black with silver highlights. For accessories to be powered up, there’s two 12V sockets to utilise, plus there’s Bluetooth streaming for music, voice command recognition, handsfree phone calling whilst the audio system in the 3.6L is American icon, Harman Kardon. It’s clear and punchy, with a well defined sound stage.
The steering wheel is chunky enough to give a decent surface area for the hands to wrap around on the leather, without stretching the fingers. There’s no sense of overloading the spokes with the various tabs and buttons for Cruise control, audio and information selection tabs on the lower left.
In the upper centre console is Subaru’s integrated touchscreen navitainment system; it’s a true delight to use in its simplicity and offers a wide range of information and features, accessible from the Home screen and sub-menus embedded within. Above that is the stereo camera installation for Eyesight: http://www.subaru.com.au/eyesight-technology.
On The Road.
Compared to the sedan tested previously, it’s much more composed, stable and feels much more planted on the road. There’s a sensation of less body roll, more grip, with just a hint of understeer, easily controlled by a gentle prod of the right foot. The brake pedal is a touch soft at the beginning of the travel, with no feel of bite. To me, it needs to start earlier, to alleviate any feeling some drivers may have of the brakes not gripping.
The splendid looking 18 inch alloys hold onto 225/60 Bridgestone Dueller tyres, a dual purpose semi offroad and tarmac oriented design. They’re quiet across the coarser chip roads and add to the confidence in handling the Outback offers up. Rid equality is possibly more oriented towards the sporty style, with a touch of initial compliance before firming up but not uncomfortably so.
Subaru quotes 7.8 seconds to reach 100 kilometres per hour with the 3.6L, it certainly feels capable enough indoing so, however, as good as the engineering is on their current crop of CVT’s, there’s still that seat of the pants feeling that a traditional auto could utilise the engine’s torque and power a touch more effectively. For the Outback, there’s also Hill Descent Control and a lockable centre diff.
Underway the car is mostly silent, bar the muted throb from the dual exhaust. Move too close to the centre or kerbside lines and you’ll trigger the Lane Departure warning system, with chimes aplenty. Thankfully, it’s a noise you can turn off. The Eyesight system offers adaptive cruise and a nifty feature alerting you if you’ve stayed still but the car ahead has moved on.
The Wrap.
Although seeming pricey at just over $50K, Subaru immediately passed on the dollar savings that a newly signed Free Trade Agreement brought to it. The Outback 3.6L comes with a solid features list, a comfortable interior, sweet ergonomics, plenty of family room but suffers from an excessively thirsty engine, from Subaru’s figures. The upside is that it’s a better looker than its predecessor and the increased sales figures reflect this.
For further details and pricing for your area: click here: http://www.subaru.com.au/outback/features
The Car: Subaru Outback.
Engine: 3.6L “boxer” or horizontally opposed six cylinder.
Power/Torque: 191 kW @ 6000 rpm/350 Nm @ 4400 rpm.
Transmission: CVT (constant variable transmission).
Fuel: 91RON.
Tank: 60 litres.
Economy: (City/highway/combined litres per hundred kilometres) 14.2/7.5/9.9.
Dimensions: (L x W x H in mm) 4815 x 1840 x 1675.
Wheelbase: 2745 mm.
Ride height: 210 mm.
Cargo: 512L/1801L (seats up/lowered).
Holy Roller: The Popemobile
Not too long ago, I did a wee post telling you all about the fancy-pants limo used by the President of the US of A, known as The Beast. The research for this led me to odd bits and pieces about the Popemobile, so I thought that the opportunity was too good to pass up.
The Beast at least looks like a car. The Popemobile… doesn’t. Maybe that’s the real reason why the current pope, Pope Francis, doesn’t like it, as well as his apparent preference for keeping things simple. And I have to say that I’d prefer to drive myself around in a Ford Focus or a Renault 4 , too, like he does, rather than sit in what looks like a glass box on the back of a ute.
Popemobiles are a comparatively recent arrival on the scene, unlike presidential limos. Prior to 1976, the pope got carried about on a mobile armchair known as the sedia gestatoria, which roughly means “portable chair”. Pope Paul VI scrapped the idea of being carried about on the shoulders of fellow human beings and organised a modified Toyota Land Cruiser instead. It used to take 12 blokes to carry it, partly because that padded throne was pretty heavy and partly in memory of the 12 disciples of Jesus… although Jesus’s preferred forms of transport were foot, rowing boat and a borrowed donkey.
Popemobiles tend to come in two varieties: open top and bulletproof. The uncovered ones tend to get used when the Pope is on his home turf in the Vatican, with the bulletproof ones being kept for overseas trips. The bulletproof ones came in after the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981.
A number of vehicles have been modified over the years to be used as Popemobiles. Fords, Fiats, a SEAT Panda (close cousin to the Fiat of the same name), a Kia and some British Leyland trucks have all been customised for the task, which is as close as a car comes to being consecrated. A few other obscure vehicles have also been used over the years. The current Popemobile is a modified Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV. All Popemobiles have the same license plate: SCV 1, with the SCV standing for Status Civitatis Vaticanae meaning “City State of the Vatican”.
Engine: 5-litre V8, petrol fuel. There are probably plans afoot for greener versions.
Seating: Five maximum: two in the front (one chauffeur and one bodyguard), one in the special chair and two aides in the rear cabin facing backwards and lower down where the general public can’t see them so well. The answer to the debate over how many guardian angels you can fit in the rear of the Popemobile along with His Holiness is probably the same as the one about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The actual chair itself has a hydraulic lift system to get it up to the top of the turret for maximum visibility. Entrance to the seat is through the rear door, and to get into this seat, the Pope goes through the rear door, climbs up a couple of steps, sits down then presses a button to get the chair up into the right place.
Performance: Tipping the scales at 5 tonnes thanks to heaps of body armour, the current Popemobile has a top speed of 160 mph and does the 0–60 mph “sprint” in 15 seconds, assuming that there’s a clear space in front. The usual speed while on duty is more like 6 mph. Fuel consumption is 15 miles per gallon.
Safety and security: The bulletproof glass around the rear cabin is actually plastic glass and is three inches thick, capable of withstanding explosions. The underside of the car is protected by a bombproof steel plate half an inch thick. Kelvar body armour lines the sides of the cabin. The rear cabin has its own oxygen supply and air filters to withstand biological attack. The run-flat tyres are able to be used at speeds up to 70 mph.
I did notice that the special chair thing in the rear cabin doesn’t have a seatbelt…
Safe and happy driving – and don’t forget your seatbelts!
Megan
Blancpain Sprint Series Thunders Back To Brands Hatch
Image Credit: brandshatch.co.uk
In the depths of darkness, the rapturous gods of thunderous passion have once more decreed their will; the Blancpain GT Series is to return to the once peaceful Kentish countryside. After a succulent success last year, the Sprint Series will once more grace the tarmac at Brands Hatch. The brutally British Bentley will join the returning marques of Audi, BMW, Ferrari and Lamborghini this year. The weekend will be nothing but spectacular, and there is no better place to watch the action than Stopwatch Hospitality.
When the Blancpain Sprint series came to Brands Hatch in 2014, no one was expecting such a spectacular weekend of racing. There is no doubt that the Blancpain GT series was something special, but until the eardrums were ringing and the rib cages rattling, no one was truly prepared for what was in store. The Brands Hatch round last year produced the closest qualifying and race finish that was seen all year round. Who would want to miss that?
The Blancpain behemoths will be piloted by a selection of some of the best sports car drivers you will see put hand to wheel, including Grand Prix competitors Markus Winklehock and Bernd Schneider as well as rising stars Craig Dolby and Sean Walkinshaw.
May the thunderous majesty return once more. Image Credit: brandshatch.co.uk
One of the biggest stories from that weekend was the return of motorsport legend Alex Zanardi, who had previously won two emotional gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics, which had been held at Brands Hatch. To say that the crowd was completely behind Zanardi would be an understatement. Despite some problems across the weekend, Zanardi would finish the main race 5th only 24.579 seconds behind the winning Grasser Racing Lamborghini.
The people’s hero, the people’s champion, the people’s inspiration.
Even with the monstrous main course, the Blancpain package offers a succulent array of side dishes, including the ever popular GT Cup that had fans captivated from start to finish. Alongside their increasingly popular BTCC campaign, Power Maxed also run the Mini Challenge which will be out in force for your wonderment. The BRSCC Mazda MX5 Championship will too be making an appearance, pitting a full grid made up of a truly iconic sports car against each other. Did we also mention that there will be an immense super car display taking place on race day too? This is not something you will want to miss.
Stopwatch Hospitality offers a race day package like no other, such as unrivalled views of the circuit, interviews and autograph sessions with drivers and a behind the scenes experience to see race teams in action. As an added bonus, guests will witness first-hands the delectable commentary delights of Downforce Radio who will be broadcasting some of the races from the weekend right from the suite! Add on top of that a wide range of complimentary drinks and food throughout the day in the suite alongside multimedia access to Twitter streams and live timing, is there really any other way to spend your day!
Full Race day package available for only £75.
Trackside Lounge Package (excluding complimentary food/drink) £45
The only way is Blancpain. The only way is Stopwatch Hospitality.
See you there!
Private Fleet Car Review: 2016 Subaru Liberty Premium 2.5L Sedan
Subaru has been an integral part of the Australian motoring landscape for close to five decades now and has sold solidly, if not spectacularly. That looks set to change, if March 2015 sales figures are anything to go by, thanks to the recent update to the Liberty range.
There’s an overall increase for the Japanese car maker of five percent for March, with a three point five percent increase on a year to date basis; Liberty itself sold 425 units whilst the ever popular Outlander moved an impressive and record setting 1180.
A Wheel Thing samples the 2016 Liberty sedan, in Premium spec and 2.5L engine, to see what’s been done to impress an increasing number of Aussies.
Powersource.
The test car was powered by Subaru’s dependable 2.5L petrol engine. It’s also the familiar flat or “boxer” four cylinder configuration, with a hint of the throb the engine is noted for being emitted via the now single pipe exhaust. Power and torque (129 kW/235 Nm @ 5800/4000 rpm) go to all four wheels via Subaru’s Lineartronic CVT.
As are all CVT’s nowadays, it’s programmed with shiftpoints, six in this case and allows manual selection via paddles on the steering wheel’s rear. Petrol is stored in a 60 litre tank, with the engine tuned to run on 91RON, with economy claimed to be at 6.3L/9.0L/7.3L per 100 kilometres (highway, urban, combined). It’s EURO6 compliant, with emissions pegged at 167 grams per kilometre.
The Suit.
The most overt sign of change is at the front, with a larger grille, a more upright look, an aluminuim bonnet and a more integrated headlight assembly, compared to the angular and over extended mess on the previous model. There’s globe lit driving lights on either side of the lower air intake, sitting deep inside the strakes of the aerodynamic front bar.
At the blunt end, tail lights are an evolution of the former, with a nicely styled look across the rear as they sit underneath the integrated rear deck spoiler.
There’s some minor panel join changes, however you’d have to be an “anorak” to notice them. In profile, there’s some minor changes to the rear window line, there’s two crease lines joining front and rear and the Liberty sits on 225/50/18 Dunlop rubber, wrapping some gorgeous 10 spoke bare metal and black painted alloys.
On The Inside.
Seats.
There’s two easily spotted and used buttons to heat the well padded but flat seats for driver and passenger, placed on the lower section of the centre console (no cooling?). The driver’s seat was fully electric, the passenger seat was manual. There’s some bolstering to the sides and hips however the overwhelming impression was sitting on, not in, the seats. The driver does get, though, a two position memory.
Dash and Console.
Simply stated: clean and uncluttered. A Wheel Thing appreciated good ergonomics and it’s here in bucketloads inside the Liberty range. The main dash dials are lit with a deep cobalt blue light, bisected by a full colour LCD screen with information showing instant fuel usage (expressed as a percentage), warnings such as Lane Departure and kilometres covered.
The centre dash console has a touchscreen, 7 inches on the Premium, with an elegant, almost piano black, look to the surrounds. There’s a set of menus, clearly laid out, taking you through to Settings, Navigation and more. It’s a clean and crisp look to the whole system and devilishly easy to use.
Heating and cooling is dual zone, with two large dials to select the temperature and a light gunmetal grey finish to the selection buttons. Temperatures are displayed in large and bright LCD’s; a downside to this section is the tiny clock display; it’s too small and needs to be relocated to a more visible point.
Steering Wheel.
It’s adjustable for reach (in/out) and rake (up/down), is well sized in diameter and has a good grip for the hand. There’s controls for audio on the left and Cruise Control on the right, with the aforementioned paddle shifts easily reached at fingertip length. Again, it’s an ergonomic highlight.
Driving wise, there’s also the SI Drive, featuring two electronic programs, being Intelligent and Sports.
Sound System.
The submenu is, again, easy to follow; there’s Bluetooth connectivity plus USB and Auxiliary, CD and six speakers (top of the range gets 12 speakers via Harman Kardon). It’s well weighted with the sound mix, enough bass to punch through and clear with midrange and treble giving a well defined sound stage, out of the box.
Safety.
Subaru has its proprietary radar system called Eyesight (see end of review). Mounted to the left and right of the rear vision mirror, much like human eyes and a nose, lay two cameras. They tie in with the cruise control, providing a distance and collision avoidance system, tail light recognition, pre-collision steering assist and more.
Naturally, there’s airbags aplenty and electronic assistance; acronyms abound with TCS, ABS, ECT and TVS, the latter standing for Torque Vectoring System, whereby torque from the all wheel drive is sent to the corner needing it most. Airbags feature for driver, passenger and rear seat with curtain ‘bags plus the driver gets a kneebag as well.
Other Highlights.
The front door arm rests have a blue LED highlighting the hand grab and there’s puddle lights in the bottom of the doors. Rear seats are 60/40 split fold and easy dropped down to a prone position via a lever at the top. There’s plenty of cargo space at 493L (seats up). Looking upwards, there’s a sunroof to provide some natural light.
On The Road.
It’s here that, for A Wheel Thing, this car displayed a considerable flaw. In this driver’s eyes, it’s the over sensitive and assisted steering setup. On pickup, the tyres were somewhat under pressured; when brought up to pressure, the ride hadn’t improved but the increase in tyre pressure was noticeable.
The steering had the Lane Departure warning system activating on a constant basis, such was the excess in assistance. Even the lightest of touches seemed to have the car veering left or right. To say it was disconcerting is an understatement. Left to its own devices, on a flat and straight surface, the car would track straight and true, but it rarely imbued the driver with a full feeling of confidence.
The suspension itself was well sprung, if a touch soft at times; again, that tyre pressure differential was noticeable. Over the short metal speed bumps in car parks, the give in the ride was apparent, however there was minimal body roll.
Acceleration is reasonable, not brisk, (Subaru says 9.6 seconds to 100 kilometres) with those torques coming in at a relatively high 4000, it takes a good shove of the go pedal to reach them. There’s also that unavoidable delay between Reverse and Drive, taking somewhere between a half and full second for forward motion to be re-engaged. braking is good, with enough of a progression on the pedal to not feel as if the system is underbraked.
The Wrap.
Subaru’s 2015/2016 range of Liberty variants are good lookers; it’s a definite case of quiet evolution and it’s working, judging by the numbers I’m seeing on the road, even though the car hasn’t been on sale for long. It’s a handsome enough looker, reasonably frugal if you don’t have a heavy right foot, full of safety features and the interior freshen up has given it some new life.
The over assistance in steering, the odd decision to shrink the clock to almost insignificance and the somewhat weird (on the test car) suspension pull the Liberty Premium back a couple of notches. Pricewise, it sits just under $40K driveaway, putting it within reach of the lower level Euro cars.
Backed by a three year, unlimited kilometre warranty (falling behind compared to the Koreans) and a 12 month Roadside Assistance package, there’s peace of mind included.
Follow the link for information and pricing for your area: http://www.subaru.com.au/liberty/specs
Specs.
Engine: 2.5L, horizontally opposed (boxer engine).
Power/torque: 129 kW, 235 Nm @ 5800/4000 rpm.
Fuel: petrol, 91RON compatible.
Tank: 60 litres.
Economy (claimed, city, highway, combined) 9.0L, 6.3L, 7.3L per 100 km.
Dimensions: 4795 x 1840 x 1500 (L x W x H in mm).
Weight: 1528 kg (tare).
Warranty: 3 years, unlimited kilometres, 12 month roadside assistance.
Cargo: 493L (rear seat raised)
Subaru’s 20/20 Vision Wins Over Starry-Eyed Judges
Subaru’s new generation EyeSight® driver assist system has won an innovation excellence award from respected researcher, Canstar Blue.
EyeSight is one of eight innovations recognised within the automotive industry for offering a range of new features and services available to Australian motorists, with safety a key aspect of many.
The system uses stereo cameras mounted at the top of the windscreen, capturing “live” images of the road ahead – helping car and driver to react instantly to potentially dangerous situations. This can help prevent collisions, or reduce impact damage.
Megan Doyle, Canstar Blue General Manager, said: “A great safety feature to have as standard on any vehicle, EyeSight by Subaru is not only innovative, but most importantly it could help prevent some of the needless collisions that occur on our roads every day.
“As a driver you would have to be super-human not to experience the odd moment of tiredness or dip in concentration behind the wheel, which could potentially lead to disastrous results.
“Fortunately Subaru has created what is essentially an extra pair of eyes – alerting a driver to potential collisions and helping to mitigate the consequences of them.
“We applaud Subaru for its innovation and dedication to improving the safety of both road-users and pedestrians.”
Subaru Australia Managing Director, Nick Senior, said: “We’re delighted our EyeSight driver assist technology has been recognised for excellence in innovation.
“Safety has always been a top priority for Subaru, and when we introduced the EyeSight driver assist technology in 2012, we elevated our safety commitment even further, potentially preventing collisions or reducing the severity.
“In Australia, EyeSight has attracted insurance premium reductions for vehicle owners, while late last year in Japan, Liberty and Outback models equipped with EyeSight were awarded top ratings in a new type of assessment conducted by the Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP).”
Other international acclaim for EyeSight includes a maximum six point rating in Front Crash Prevention (FCP) tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the United States.
In 2012, EyeSight won a prestigious Japanese government science and technology award. The five Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) engineers who developed EyeSight received the prize for Science and Technology 2012, Development Category, from Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The award-winning third-generation EyeSight system, adds brake light recognition, pre-collision steering assist and approximately 40 per cent improvement in obstacle detection distance and camera angle view, to its already impressive credentials:
- Adaptive Cruise Control
- Lane Departure Warning
- Lane Sway Warning
- Lead Vehicle Start Alert
- Pre-Collision Braking System
- Pre-Collision Brake Assist
- Pre-Collision Throttle Management
Third-generation EyeSight comes standard on all new generation Liberty and Outback petrol variants which start from just $29,990 MLP*.
For more information on Subaru’s EyeSight driver assist system, head to www.subaru.com.au/eyesight
*Prices are Subaru (Aust) Pty Limited’s Manufacturer’s List Prices only and include GST on the list price but exclude dealer delivery charges and all other government and statutory charges. For the actual drive away price of Subaru vehicles consumers should be advised to contact their local authorized Subaru dealer.
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